Paul Williams gets at unfair politics of boxing, states Floyd Mayweather will never fight him
Paul “The Punisher” Williams (39-1, 27 KOs) isn’t known for punishing opponents with words.
That changed yesterday.
In a press conference for his upcoming November 20 rematch with Sergio Martinez, Williams took a moment to consider other potential opponents with promoter Dan Goosen. He immediately shrugged off Floyd Mayweather Jr., saying the undefeated star will never
fight him. The point was underlined with a heavy-duty diss.
“I don’t think Mayweather will fight me anytime,” Williams said in disbelief. “Manny Pacquiao, he might do it, he might step up, but not Mayweather. I guess Floyd won’t fight me because I don’t have a v****a.”
A wave of 'ohs!' and chuckles swept through the crowd.
Williams was referring to the recent battery charges Mayweather faces against former girlfriend, Josie Harris. The fighter broke into her Las Vegas quarters recently and allegedly attacked her at the height of a bizarre love triangle with Chicago Bulls’
guard CJ Watson.
Williams elaborated on the sorry state of affairs, saying he didn’t think Mayweather was avoiding him on the advice of his advisor, Al Haymon (known to book ‘favourable’ fights). Williams said: "I was in the barbershop in (Washington) D.C., the other day
and the guys were talking about it. They respect Floyd's skills like I do but they were saying they know he won't ever fight me. If Floyd went to Al and said, ‘Hey, I want to fight Paul Williams, what can Al do?’…. But Floyd is not going to ever say that.
Pacquiao, he fights bigger guys, he's different than Mayweather so maybe I will get to fight him."
Williams speculated that Mayweather was obsessed with maintaining his unblemished record. The trouble, he said, is that the guys Mayweather consistently compares himself to, the Ray Robinsons and Muhammad Alis of the boxing world, were all willing to fight
worthy competition and it shows in their records. But Mayweather puts a premium on a record, when in reality it should be put on the quality of fighters one faces.
Williams’s trainer George Peterson agreed with his fighter’s assessment. He added that while Pacquiao “loves” to fight, his fighter on the other hand is “not old enough for Floyd to fight, since Mayweather “likes to wait until a guy is old.”
That argument is a good one. Mayweather-ites always fail to note that Mayweather, predictably, beat a slew of top names well after their best run. Guys like Oscar De la Hoya, Arturo Gatti, Carlos Baldomir, and Shane Mosley could all be assessed as being
past their primes by the time Mayweather got to them in the ring.
"I can make 147 (pounds) for Floyd or for Manny if I have to and I would,” Williams plead. "But this isn't like baseball or football where the best teams are mandated to play each other. In boxing, these guys don't want to give me the shot."
Peterson said that to add to the frustration, Williams, despite his success in the ring, is not yet a pay-per-view attraction. So he can’t get the attention he so vitally needs. But part of that is due to so many fighters avoiding him. The vicious circle
is that it’s only with pay-per-view that Williams can achieve status, and yet he can’t achieve it because pay-per-view won’t touch him without it.
There is but one solution, and it’s that the fans rise up and call for the fights. Williams was aware of this, saying: "If the fans demand it, then HBO will hear them. Maybe HBO can make the top guys fight me. If it's demanded by the public, then maybe.
But, when these guys fight and then take the microphone after they fight, who do they mention? You never hear them say my name, do you?"
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