Paul Williams says he'll move down if the fights are there
Paul 'The Punisher' Williams (39-1, 27 KOs), is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound boxer the world over. To the delight of his fans, he has said that he will return to the welterweight division if it means the guarantee of a big fight.
Williams was planning a return to the division following a stint in the middleweight category. Plans were delayed due to a deal being signed for a rematch with current WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
The two are set to compete on 20 November in Atlantic City for a fight that should be a foreseeable classic. Their first meeting, in December of last year, was a candidate for fight of the year, with both fighters going down in the opening round and battling
to a close decision (Williams narrowly won).
Williams has said that even if he beats Martinez a second time around and wins his title, he will return to welterweight if it means securing a bout with the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao.
"If the money is right and they give me enough time to get down, we're there. If one of them top guys like Mayweather or Pacquiao take me down to 147, then I'm there. I don't want to go there for some up-and-coming guy to gain a rep off of me. When I fought
Margarito and beat him, they said this was the time for me to get the biggest fights."
Despite fighting the best of the best and winning in all occasions but one, Williams is generally regarded as one of the most avoided fighters in professional boxing. At 6ft 2in, he is freakishly tall for a welterweight and possesses top-of-the-line talents,
making him very dangerous and avoidable for most competition.
He spoke of the phenomenon, saying, "I had to give up my [WBO welterweight] belt because Michael Jennings was [ranked] number one and Miguel Cotto was number two. I couldn't get them to fight me, but when I vacated the title and moved up to take a 154-pound
fight, they're fighting for my title. So what does that tell you?"
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum recently spoke up about the possibility of a Williams-Manny Pacquiao fight, and didn’t seem overly inclined to put his biggest fighter against Williams either.
Williams stands a full six inches above Pacquiao, who will be fighting for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title on November 13.
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