"Throwback" Paul Williams on Kelly Pavlik, Floyd Mayweather, Others

FanHouse caught up to rising middleweight, Paul Williams, in Westminster, MD., on Friday night where the man generally considered to be among boxing's pound-for-pound best watched a stablemate on a local fight card.

A 28-year-old, southpaw with two-fisted power and, usually, an incredible energy level and punch output, "The Punisher" Williams (37-1, 27 knockouts) has twice won WBO titles at welterweight (147 pounds) and one at junior middleweight (154). Williams will appear with 27-year-old, World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight (160) champion, Kelly Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs) at Tuesday's press conference announcing their Dec. 5 clash at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.

Check out what Williams told FanHouse about Pavlik, Antonio Margarito, Floyd Mayweather's performance against Juan Manuel Marquez, his Vitali Klitschko-Cris Arreola prediction, and his thoughts on Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

Satterfield: What does coming off of April's big win over Winky Wright and winning almost every round do for your career and confidence?

Williams: "Basically, it's opened up more doors for me. Winky Wright is a good dude, and he has great defense. I just do what I do best, go out there and try to put on a good show for my fans and myself because I just want to win."



Satterfield: Were you initially comfortable starting your career at middleweight, stopping 13 of your first 14 opponents without a loss?

Williams: "When you're first starting out, you sort of go into whatever weight you believe that you can be successful at. My manager, [George] Peterson, was like, 'well, if you're walking around at that weight, and you're competing at that weight, you can probably drop that weight.'

"So we started dropping that weight, and it was coming off so easy, I wasn't having any problems with it. So we were like, 'Let's try 147.' And we started making welterweight with no problem."

Satterfield: Did you go down to 147 because that's where the action was?

Williams: "We definitely went to 147 because that was the hottest weight class out there. So we wanted to market ourselves in the hottest weight class to get the biggest, big-name fights.

"But once we started fighting at that weight and making a name for ourselves at that weight, it seemed like it was getting harder for me to get fights. Then when I beat Antonio Margarito and won the title in that weight, it was really even harder to get fights there."

Satterfield: Can you clear the air about Antonio Margarito -- the sparring sessions and the actual fight?

Williams: "That win was a big moment for me and my manager, George Peterson. That was his first time ever having a world champion, and that was my first time being a world champion. That was just a blessing that God put is together. He fulfilled his dream of having a world champion, and I made my dream come true to be a world champion."

Satterfield: Can you tell us more about that legendary sparring session?

Williams: "The sparring session stories about me and Antonio Margarito, there were reporters there who saw what happened and already knew that I wasn't lying and just trying to build a big hype about it. I was just doing like I normally do. I was just working.

"But the guys that were there, or who heard about it, just asked me about it one day, and I just told them what happened. They asked me about whether or not I had hurt him to the body that one time or not. But then, they made a big thing out of it and just ran with their stories about it."

"Then, [Margarito] came out and said that I was lying. So that kind of got me upset, so that's how that thing between me and [Margarito] got going."

Satterfield: After beating Margarito, what led to you losing your very next fight and the title to Carlos Quintana?

Williams: "We were scheduled to fight Kermit Cintron and all of that. And then, that fell out, and as time went by, we didn't know who we were going to fight. Then they come up with Carlos Quintana, and I'll just admit, I just couldn't get up for Quintana.

"I just had an off night. We didn't over-train, I didn't overlook him or anything like that. I just couldn't get into my rhythm."

Satterfield: What did you take from that fight that made you so fired up for the revenge and your first-round knockout of Quintana?

Williams: "That's a testament to the statement that on any given day, anybody can beat you at any given time. You just have to prepare for the best, and prepare for the good and the bad. I learned a great lesson from that. It doesn't matter how good you think that you are, there's somebody out there that may have your number.

"It can just be one of those days or one of those nights. You can be sparring, and one day you come into the gym and you just don't have it that day and everybody beats you in the gym that day. It's boxing. I look at it like every time that I get into the ring there's a 50-50 chance with anybody.

"If there's a punch in the air, anybody can get hurt and anybody can go out. You just have to take the good with the bad, and that's what I did. It was like, 'Okay, so he beat me.' It was nothing to cry about, we'll just go back to the drawing board and correct it and that's what we did."

Satterfield: Can you talk about your ranking by Yahoo.com's Kevin Iole as the third-best, pound-for-pound, behind Floyd and Manny Pacquiao, and, before Bernard Hopkins?

Williams: "I saw Floyd Mayweather's performance the other night against Juan Marquez. Floyd did what he was supposed to do. He went out there and he won. I want to fight those two guys, but I know that that's not going to happen. I've got to put that behind me.

"When I was fighting at 147, you know, those guys -- I just know it's not going to happen. So I decided not to worry about that anymore. So I said 'I'm just going to make my mark in other weight classes'-- like I'm doing now. I think that it's really hot the way that I'm doing it.

"So I'll just go into another weight class, and whoever steps up, and they've proved theirselves worthy enough to get into the ring, we'll get it on and may the best man win."

Satterfield: In what ways are you a throw-back fighter as you've mentioned?

Williams: "I am a throw-back fighter. We're in the years of 2000, but I'm a throw-back fighter because I'll fight anybody. It doesn't matter who it is. If they sign a contract, then it's on. Guys talk all of this stuff that they're the best and this and that, but they won't fight certain guys.

"They'll stay and fight littler guys. But I started moving up and fighting guys who were bigger than me and still beat them the same way. I still don't feel like I've gotten my props. I just have to take it by force, like I'm doing now."

Satterfield: There's a press conference on Tuesday concerning your fight with Kelly Pavlik's title in Atlantic City on Dec. 5, correct?

Williams: "If that fight happens, it's going to be a very big fight. A lot of people want to see it. Kelly Pavlik is a champion. He's got two belts. I admire him. He's lost one fight and I've lost one fight. He could have had an off night with Bernard Hopkins, and I know that I had an off night with Quintana.

"I know that it's going to be a big, big fight that night. I'm looking forward to making it happen, and my fans are looking forward to making it happen. Even his fans and people who are not my fans are going to get a good show because they know that I'm going to come out there and fight and he's going to come out there and fight. May the best man win."

Satterfield: What do you think of the comparisons of you to Tommy Hearns?

Williams: "It's a compliment, no pressure at all. But I'm Paul Williams. I have my own style. Some people do say that I remind them of Tommy Hearns because I'm tall and have power, but you're more slick and this and that.

"I take them as compliments because those guys back then were great and they fought everybody. It was like, 'If we've got to fight each other, we're going to fight."



Satterfield: So earlier, when you said that you're a thow-back fighter, are you referring to the days of Hearns, Leonard, Hagler, Duran and Wilfred Benitez?

Williams: "Yeah. Maybe I'm in the wrong time. I should have been back there fighting 20, 30 years ago. Because right now, it doesn't matter who they say I'm going to fight, I'm ready to fight. They were out to prove to each other who was the best. It's the fight game, right?

"So okay, I want to prove to my fans and my friends that I'm the best in the sport. I'm going to fight these guys and I'm going to try my best to win just like they're going to try their best to win. I want to give the fans their money's worth. But some guys just don't want to fight. They want to fight guys that they know that they can beat or guys that they know that they have the advantage over.

"But to me, it can be a heads-up fight. Doesn't matter to me. Let's get it on. If I'm told they have a fight for me, I'm like, 'Okay, no problem.' I'm going to get into the best shape I can possibly get in and may the best man win. Because I'm going to give it 100 percent."

Satterfield: So who is it going to be tomorrow night, Vitali Klitschko or Cris Arreola?

Williams: "I'm going with my boy Arreola. Arreola by knockout. I think probably in the seventh round Arreola will get him up outta there. He just has to make Klitschko fight. Klitschko is too big to stay on the outside and to try to box with him. Klitschko has got that down pat.

"Arreola's got to take it to him and make him fight, take him out of his comfort zone. Make him fight, and I believe that that's what Arreola's going to do. Arreola's been on the undercard for a good minute now, and now, it's his time to shine.

"My hat is off to Arreola because I know that Arreola's going to do his thing. He's the Nightmare."