Paul Williams vs. Winky Wright Preview & Prediction
In an intriguing battle featuring two fighters known as much for being avoided by their counterparts as for their work inside of the ring, Paul Williams will square off against the crafty master tactician Winky Wright.
Williams burst onto the scene by beating Antonio Margarito. Taking the fight made Williams respected, as at the time many were avoiding Margarito. Winning the fight made him an instant threat to anybody in his weight class. He then suffered a surprising loss to Carlos Quintana.
Since then Williams has once again been on a tear. He came right back against his conqueror and knocked him out in the first round. Without a meaningful fight lining up at welterweight, Williams jumped up to middleweight and then to junior middleweight taking on all comers.
It's something that Wright has long been accustomed to, and can certainly appreciate. Wright spent most of his career toiling in anonymity. He traversed the globe, taking fights in France, Germany, the UK, Argentia, South Africa and assorted other fight locales as the champions of his day passed over his name time and time again.
Wright finally caught his break when Shane Mosley manned up to face him. Wright beat him twice, then pitched a shutout against Felix Trinidad. He drew then middleweight champion Jermain Taylor and then lost a decision to Bernard Hopkins at a weight far above his best.
Paul "The Punisher" Williams
Height: 6'1" Reach: 82"
36 (27) – 1
Ronald "Winky" Wright
Height: 5'10" Reach: 72"
51 (25) – 4 – 1
Williams vs Wright Prediction
The telling number in this fight is 10. Ten inches is the reach advantage that Williams holds over Wright. Ten is the number of years that Williams is younger than Wright. Ten is also the number of fights Williams has had since the start of 2006, including this scheduled contest. For Winky Wright, this will only be his fourth time in the ring in that time period.
Since his loss to Hopkins in July of 2007, Wright has been completely inactive, waiting for big fights to materialize. Constantly pricing himself out of the fights he wished to take part in however has left Wright an afterthought despite his skills. An inactive period of a year and half at the age of 37 is something that may be hard to get over.
Another challenge for Wright in this battle will be the size and style of Williams. Both men are southpaws, negating that particular tactical advantage for Wright. Wright thrives on a shell defense, where he covers up with a high guard and blocks his opponent's shots. He usually lets them finish their combination before returning his own fire.
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However, Williams rarely ever stops throwing, commonly breaching the 100 punches per round threshold. With his enormous reach advantage, Williams will be able to stay active from a distance, and Wright will struggle to get into a rhythm with his trademark jab.
The age, the time off, the size difference, the styles… it all adds up to a tough challenge for Wright. Unfortunately for him, it does not seem like it will be a challenge he can overcome. Williams has too much of everything for Wright.
With Wright's skills he certainly will be able to make things difficult for Williams in the early rounds. However, the young lion will soon after put to use his physical assets. Expect Williams to recover from a slow start to win the majority of the rounds, taking home a close decision victory.
Wright will protest, because he always does. But his bruised face will tell a different story.
For Paul Williams, anybody that steps up to the plate faces a daunting task if Williams shows up mentally prepared. From 147-160 lbs, everybody better be ready for The Punisher.
By Jake Emen
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer & Director of Boxing Content