Paul Williams takes on Kermit Cintron this Saturday in California. The fight can be seen on HBO at 9:45 pm ET. The Williams-Cintron fight will be accompanied by a replay of last week’s Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Shane Mosley welterweight bout. Read on for our fight preview and staff predictions.
Paul Williams vs. Kermit Cintron
Money Line: Williams -600; Cintron +400
Paul Williams enters this Saturday’s fight with a record of 38-1 (27 KOs). He claims he can make weight anywhere from 147 to 160 and his fight with Cintron will be contested at 154. Williams scored a majority decision over Sergio Martinez, the current middleweight champion, in his last fight. Whatever weight class Williams competes in, he creates a matchup nightmare for his opponent. He’s tall and lanky at 6’1″ with an 82″ reach. His reach is longer than that of both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. He is a punches-in-bunches fighter, giving his opponent little time to rest and regroup during the round. Size: check. Activity rate: check. He’s also a southpaw that is entering his prime at 28 years of age. You can see why some guys aren’t too eager to fight this man.
If there’s one man in boxing that isn’t afraid of a challenge, it’s Kermit Cintron, 32-2-1 (28 KOs). He’s making a career out of fighting the guys that no one wants to fight. First it was Antonio Margarito, whom he fought twice. Then it was Sergio Martinez. Next was Alfredo Angulo. Kermit even volunteered to fight Sean Sherk in an MMA bout during Floyd Mayweather Jr’s brief scrap with Dana White and the UFC. Now he’s going after Paul Williams. Cintron packs a powerful punch but showed improved boxing skills in his win over Angulo. The problem with Cintron is that he’s not consistent. Despite the improvement against Angulo, Cintron appeared sluggish in his draw against Martinez. His heart, however, never comes into question.
Staff Predictions
Corey: At this point in his career, Paul Williams has been winning with his physical attributes. His height, length and ability to punch opponents into submission have made him an indomitable force from 160 pounds on down. But he has yet to have to think his way through a fight. Against Kermit Cintron, he faces a disciplined puncher who fought as intelligently as ever before against Alfredo Angulo this time last year. The trick will be for Williams to not let Cintron get into any such rhythm – upset his focus by fighting the only way Paul has. It was enough for Antonio Margarito to leave Cintron on the canvas twice, and it will be enough for Williams, who will wear Cintron down for a tenth round stoppage.
Trent: As mentioned above, Paul Williams creates a lot of matchup problems. Kermit Cintron’s two losses came to Antonio Margarito and Williams fights a similar all-action style. Cintron has tons of heart but I don’t see this fight going in his favor. Williams’ activity rate will frustrate Cintron. Kermit’s best chance is to make this a slow, dirty fight. Williams was bothered by cuts in his first fight to Carlos Quintana which led to his first loss. Cintron will need to clinch and keep Paul from establishing a rhythm but I don’t think that will happen. Expect Williams to pepper Cintron all night which will lead to a TKO in the 11th when the ref calls it.
