Two of the most avoided fighters in boxing get together this Saturday, perhaps because no one else wanted to fight them. Paul Williams takes on Winky Wright in Las Vegas in a fight that will be televised on HBO. Heavyweight prospect Chris Arreola takes on veteran Jameel McCline on the undercard.
Paul Williams vs. Winky Wright
Money Line: Williams -200; Wright +160
Paul Williams and Winky Wright may have been destined for each other only because of the matchup nightmares they tend to create for other fighters. Paul Williams is as flexible a fighter with his weight as you will find. He has wins in three different weight classes in the past year. His lanky frame and 82″ reach causes fits for all of his opponents. Williams is steadily bringing himself back into the mix after losing to Carlos Quintana in early 2008. He has won three fights in a row but Williams really needs this win over Winky Wright to solidify himself as one of the best boxers going today.
Winky Wright has spent much of his career getting ducked by big-named opponents. Wright finally broke through with back-to-back wins over Shane Mosley in 2004 but has found trouble getting fights recently. His last fight was in July of 2007, so ring rust could definitely come into play. Wright’s top-flight defensive tactics always give his opponents fits and Paul Williams will have trouble sneaking in his jab all night long. Winky Wright needs to prove he is still a legitimate title threat by beating one of the bright young stars in boxing.
Fight Predictions
Corey:Layoffs are a funny thing in boxing. In a sport that generally demands physical perfection, they should matter, but sometimes they don’t. In October, we saw Vitali Klitschko return after a four-year hiatus and dominate Sam Peter. Of course, Peter appeared to decide he wasn’t going to fight from the opening bell that night, so maybe he made Vitali look better than he should have. Wright isn’t coming off as long a layoff at 21 months, but I’m going to throw the layoff talk out anyway and say that this comes down to a styles matchup. Wright is a great boxer, but, without any real pop, he’s not a ring general. He’s been able to outbox some great one-punch-at-a-time opponents, but that’s not Williams. Williams is going to be throwing non-stop from the outset, trying to overwhelm Wright as he does all of his opponents, and Wright won’t be able to keep him off with big punches. If Williams slams his punches into Wright’s guard enough, as Jermain Taylor and Fernando Vargas did, they will eventually get through and do some real damage, and I think Williams will win on points, 116-112 or better.
Trent: Corey makes an excellent point regarding how Paul Williams can break through Winky’s guard. This fight will be all about who controls the pace of the fight. As Corey said, Williams will want to pick up the tempo and wear the older fighter down. Wright, on the other hand, will be trying to counterpunch off of his peek-a-boo style of guard. Either way, I don’t see much of a chance that either man finishes the fight with a KO. The fight will go to the scorecards and Paul Williams should take it as he will most certainly be the most active fighter. Wright showed a complacency in the final rounds of his fight with Jermain Taylor that makes it hard for me to believe Winky will go out there determined to win the final rounds. I’m taking Paul Williams in this one but I wouldn’t recommend the fight to an average boxing fan. This will be for sweet science fans only. Let’s say Williams 118-110.
Fight odds from Bodog.com
