WBO World Welterweight Champion

Despite taking up boxing at the tender age of eight, Paul Williams had a limited 10-year amateur career of fewer than 30 fights until he turned pro by winning a four-round decision just six days before his 19th birthday on July 21, 2000.

That lack of activity would change for Paul under the guidance of manager-trainer George Peterson -- owner of the Final Round gym in Aiken, South Carolina -- who put Paul in the ring for three bouts in his first month as a professional and eight total in the last five months of that year. 

Following a decision win in his debut, the lanky, six-foot-two southpaw – then fighting primarily as a light middleweight and middleweight -- started to display his ability to finish off his opponents by registering 13 consecutive knockouts, including seven in the first round, by the end of 2001. 

In 2002, knowing full well that while the string of knockouts gave Paul a big confidence boost, Peterson focused on improvement of Paul’s boxing skills, endurance and ring experience by getting him better sparring and opponents who could extend him in the ring.  He only fought four times that year, winning three by decision – going six rounds twice -- and one by knockout. 

The following year was more of the same for Paul, as he fought only three times.  The lack of ring activity was a combination of spending more time in the gym and finding willing opposition for Paul who was beginning to establish himself as a hot prospect with “The Sky is the Limit” potential.  Sandwiched between two early-round knockouts was a win by disqualification over Benjie Marquez, a veteran of 60 fights.  In that bout in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a battered, beaten and frustrated Marquez was disqualified for continually hitting Williams after the bell. 

The year 2004 saw Paul fight his first scheduled 10-rounder after 21 outings at preliminary distances.  In that February bout he stopped veteran Rodolfo Gomez in the fourth round. Three months later he went the 10-round distance for the first time against Luis Hernandez in a battle of undefeated welterweights at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.  Paul boxed superbly in pitching a shutout on all three judges’ scorecards in handing the native of Ecuador the first blemish on his record after 12 wins.

Having won his first 25 pro fights, Paul took his first significant step up in class when he took on Terrance Cauthen, a 1996 Olympic Bronze medalist, in April 2005 in California.  Utilizing his height advantage and ringsmanship to combat Cauthen’s clutch and grab style, Paul pounded his way to earn a lopsided, 10-round decision.  It was the first of five straight bouts for Paul in the “Golden State.”

By the time he took on his next opponent, Marteze Logan, five months later, Paul was being advised by Al Haymon and aligned promotionally with Goossen Tutor Promotions.  George Peterson and Al Haymon recognized the need to align Paul with a promoter who could assist them in taking him to the top.  Promoter Dan Goossen, seeing the talent, star potential and personal qualities Paul possessed, saw this opportunity and the relationship has been a mutually rewarding one. 

Paul won every round in notching an eight-round decision over Logan and subsequently stopped Alfonso Sanchez in five his next time out.  Those three wins in 2005 positioned Paul for his first shot at a title.

That opportunity came in April of 2006 against Sergio Rios, a winner of 18 of 20 bouts, in Lemoore, California.   Paul completely overwhelmed Rios and by virtue of his second-round knockout he captured the WBC/USNBC Welterweight Championship.

Just six weeks later, on May 27, Paul celebrated his real “Coming Out Party,” when he was featured in the main event for the vacant WBO NABO Welterweight championship on HBO’s wildly popular “Boxing After Dark” telecast against undefeated Argentine knockout sensation Walter Matthysse in Carson, California.  Coming in with 24 knockouts in his 25 wins, Matthysse put up a gallant effort but, in the end, Paul’s relentless offensive attack were too much for Mattysse to handle and Paul stopped him by a 10-round TKO.

Unsuccessful at his attempt to lure WBO Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito into giving him a shot at his world title belt, Paul put his two junior belts on the line against former two-time world champion Sharmba Mitchell in August 2006.   Paul’s six-inch height advantage and punching power more than offset Mitchell’s wide edge in ring experience and “The Punisher” dominated in stopping Mitchell in four rounds.

As Paul has climbed the welterweight ladder to the point where he became the top-ranked #1 contender to Antonio Margarito in the WBO, and #2 in the WBC, Paul has made it his mission to capture all belts in the 147-pound division.  His first world title shot came against the “most avoided man in boxing,” the fighter who said everyone was ducking him – Antonio Margarito.  Williams’s promoter, Goossen Tutor Promotions won a purse bid to promote the world championship bout in 2007 with a bid that exceeded Two Million Dollars.
On July 14, Williams achieved his dream of becoming world champion when he out-pointed the 5-year reigning world champion, Antonio Margarito, in a toe-to-toe slugfest before a sold-out HBO telecast at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. 

FAMILY: 

Paul was born in Augusta, Georgia and raised in nearby Aiken, South Carolina.  At 25, he is the youngest of four children.  Paul has a mother, Nancy; brothers Levi, age 30, and Leon, 28; and a sister, Nicole, 27. 

“I had a good childhood growing up in Aiken, South Carolina,” Paul acknowledged.  “We had everything that we wanted.  We didn’t have the finer things in life but be weren’t hurting for nothing.  And you know, just growing up and being the baby I’d get picked on and we were in some fights.  I got tougher because they hit me all the time.”

That toughness he acquired came in handy as Paul and Levi took up the sport of boxing, but only Paul stuck with it and turned professional.

“My oldest brother, he was involved in amateur boxing when we were coming up,” Paul revealed.  “Me and him were the ones that got into it.  After awhile he didn’t like it and he got out of it.”

A proud father of two children, Paul’s boxing career provides for son Paul, age 3, and 1-year-old daughter Jecoria. 

Manager-trainer George Peterson has guided Paul’s career.  Theirs is as much like a father-son relationship as a business relationship.  Paul gives George much of the credit for not only helping him become a world championship caliber boxer, but also in helping to mold him into the classy young man he has become.

EDUCATION:

Having gone through the Aiken, South Carolina school system, Paul got as far as completing the tenth grade before deciding to leave school, get a job and work on honing his boxing skills.

“I got through the tenth grade at South Aiken High School but didn’t graduate,” Paul said, adding that he took to boxing at age 8 after getting in trouble for acting up on a school bus. 

Boxing seemed to provide him with the discipline he needed to mature and, at age 17, he hooked up with George Peterson who, says Paul, “provided me with lessons on life and about myself and what I can accomplish that no high school could do.”

"I started with Williams when he was about 17," Peterson said. "He was kind of mischievous on the school bus, so the driver suggested that Williams take that energy and use it in the boxing gym. By me being connected with boxing and running a professional gym at the time in Aiken, the bus driver knew to bring Williams to me."

WHY BOXING:

When he was eight years old, Paul started to box after acting up on the school bus.

"I did not take boxing seriously at first," Williams said. "We used to go the gym and I would play video games with one of my brothers. Then, they told my mom they were going to put me in this upcoming fight. I got in there and won, and then I started taking it a little serious.  My bus driver was my amateur coach and a good friend of the family."

In his early teens, Paul took a break from boxing to reconnect with his adolescence before making a career commitment to the sport.

“I got out of it for a little while.  I was going through my teenage years and I was hanging with my friends and all that.  One day my mom showed me a newspaper with these guys I could box with and they were going to the Golden Gloves.  I said ‘Man I could be with them going there.’ But I wasn’t going to school and I had other plans to go make money fighting, so I looked to turn pro and hooked up with George Peterson.”

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS:

CHILDHOOD HERO:   “To tell you the truth I never had one of them.  Basically, I’d say if it wasn’t my mom it was my older brother (Levi).”

PEOPLE MOST ADMIRED:   “I’d have to say Mr. (George) Peterson.  He taught me a lot, as well as my amateur coach.  They taught me a lot about life and stuff.  It would have to be people like that instead of people I’ve seen on TV and stuff like that.  It’s not only about boxing, but about life and business.”

EARLIEST BOXING MEMORY:   “Me getting hit in the body and going down.  They needed someone to fight this kid in the Silver Gloves.  I said I would fight him.  I was beating him at first, but then he hit me with a body shot and I went down.  After that I have been protecting my body, doing a lot of sit-ups so I can take body shots.”

GREATEST SPORTS MOMENT:  “I’d have to say me doing what I am doing, trying to be successful and win championships.  I know I can’t do this forever.  I want to make enough money to open up a business and take care of my family.” 

PRE-FIGHT FEELING:  “Of course I feel the butterflies.  If anybody says they aren’t feeling the butterflies they know they are going in there to lose.  I don’t really know what it is, but I get those butterflies in my stomach.  But once we get going it puts my mind at ease and I have fun doing what I do.”
 
HOBBIES/INTERESTS:   “I shoot my guns.  I love to shoot my guns.  A Glock 40 caliber and an AR15.  That’s one of my hobbies right there.  Otherwise, outdoor stuff.”
 
FAVORITE MOVIES:   “The Godfather”, “Scarface” and “Kings of New York”.

HOW HE GOT HIS NICKNAME:  Regarding his nickname, Paul said, "When we were just starting out, we went down to Atlanta and sparred down there.  And we were coming back and my manager had stopped at a waffle house, and he said I had to find a name.  We were just going over all kind of stuff, and I said, ‘The Punisher.'  It just sounded good."

FAVORITE MUSIC:   “Hip Hop (T.I.)”

FAVORITE MEAL:   “Right now, anything” (he is in training).  “I’d have to say hot chicken wings.  I’m a wings man.”

FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL:   “I like all the cereals, but I’d go with Frosted Flakes or Corn Flakes, Cocoa Puffs, Flintstones, the cereals with all the sugar.”

FAVORITE JUNK FOOD:  “Candy.  I like Skittles and Mike & Ikes.”
 
FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR:   “Vanilla.”
  
FIRST JOB:   “I worked in an Aiken, South Carolina restaurant as a dishwasher.”

FAVORITE BOXERS TO WATCH:   “I like Bernard Hopkins because I like that he does whatever it takes to win, the way he fights dirty and all that (chuckles).  He doesn’t get called for it, but I like all that stuff that he does.  I also like James Toney especially because of his quick movement and stuff.  I watch the other fighters too, but I like them the best for what they do.” 

TOUGHEST OPPONENT:   “To me they all were tough, but I’ll go with Antonio Margarito.  I say him because no one wanted to fight him including Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosely or Miguel Cotto.  I did though, but I had to respect that he had held his title for 5 years.  He had a great chin and came to fight, but so did I.”
 
FAVORITE FIGHT:   “I enjoy all my fights. All the fights I’ve had I go in there and get in my rhythm.  To me people say I don’t make the fight look real hard, I make it look easy.  But I just like working and stuff.  To me I just try to get off first.  But I’d have to say all my fights are my favorites.”

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT:   “I can’t think of one.  Nothing comes to mind.  I certainly haven’t embarrassed myself in the ring (chuckle).”

CHILDHOOD DREAMS:  “We didn’t have money like the people you see on TV.  I wanted to be rich and famous.”

GOALS:   “My first goal is to win a world title.  Then I want to win all the world title belts.  And after I do that I may move up.  If I don’t, I am going to retire and open up some business back home and sit on the water somewhere fishing.” 

THINGS YOU WOULD LIKE BOXING FANS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU:  “I expect people probably think I am arrogant or stuck up, but that’s not true.  If they meet me and talk to me they will know it.  I do my job.  I can’t help that. People may get offended by the way I do my job.  I just go in the ring and try to get him out before he gets me.  People see that as mean, but it’s just me doing my job.  In the ring it’s strictly business.  Outside the ring I see fighters continuing going at each other or acting up.  That’s not my style.  I get out of the ring and I am the same Paul that people see away from boxing.” 

RECENT BOUTS:  While awaiting his first opportunity to fight for a world welterweight title, Williams meted out his brand of punishment on veteran Santos Pakau on the Goossen Tutor promoted November 4, 2006 “Pretty Risky” main event featuring Floyd Mayweather against Carlos Baldomir on HBO Pay-Per-View from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Williams systematically took Pakau apart with a relentless head and body attack before referee Joe Cortez mercifully stopped the scheduled eight-round contest at 2:16 of the sixth round.

And his last bout, July 14, 2007, when Williams was crowned the WBO World Champion on HBO when he gave the 5-year reigning world champion, Antonio Margarito his biggest payday ever of $2 Million Dollars and made him pay for it by hitting him with a record number of punches before a sold-out arena of over 8,000 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. 

PRESENT:

Not one to look for the soft touches, Williams has targeted all the welterweight world champions, but especially eyeing the Puerto Rican WBA World Champion, Miguel Cotto.  His first title defense bout will be against Carlos Quintana, also of Puerto Rico, on February 9, 2008 and will be televised on HBO with the winner most likely fighting Cotto who beat Shane Mosely in a November 2007 bout.