Boxing Wishes Granted: Floyd Mayweather JR – Manny Pacquiao on the Verge & Wladimir Klitschko – David Haye Announcement Looming -- Ringside Report

By Geno McGahee, RingsideReport.com

Why don’t we start with the big news? The fight that everyone wants to see seems to be a fight that both Floyd Mayweather, JR., 41-0, 25 KO’s, and Manny Pacquiao, 51-3-2, 38 KO’s, desperately want at this point. With every bout apart from each other, the public opinion seems to shift. Both men have been impressive and have looked unbeatable, which is why this fight is so important to boxing, history, and the legacy of both fighters.

The rumor mill is spinning quickly and there is consistent talk that this fight will be next, despite the political moves of the Filipino fighter. There has been talk of retirement for Pacquiao, but he has a personal mission to defeat a man that has never known defeat and to stop the man that has thrown allegations his way and tarnished his reputation.

When Floyd Mayweather, JR., left the sport as the pound for pound best, we knew he wouldn’t be away too long and when Manny established himself as the new best fighter in the world, Floyd was lured out, and has put together two great wins over Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley. Manny has been cleaning up boxing, beating Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Erik Morales, and Marco Antonio Barrera along the way. He is without question the best fighter that Floyd will ever face and vice versa.

The biggest thing standing in the way of this fight happening is the drug testing. Manny has stated that it would sap his energy for the fight and many point to Mosley’s performance against Floyd as proof that it can and will do that. Mayweather has reportedly stated that there is wiggle room if the money is right, and those are the magic words and that is why there are some initial talks starting up again. This fight is too big for it not to happen and it will happen. Expect some breaking developments in the near future here at RSR. This fight may fall apart again, but we are nearing the beginning stages of negotiations and constructing the biggest fight in recent history.

And just to emphasize the money that this fight with Pacquiao would generate, the Mayweather – Mosley fight drew 1.4 million pay per view buys, making it one of the biggest sells in the history of boxing. It would be likely doubled should the Filipino warrior and the defensive genius meet up.

Youtubed into the Unification

Be careful what you wish for… Well, WBA Heavyweight Champion, David “Hayemaker” Haye, 24-1, 22 KO’s, and IBO/WBO/IBF Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko, 54-3, 48 KO’s, have agreed to terms to fight in mid September. Haye has been calling out Wlad for quite a long period of time and once actually signed to fight him before pulling out, citing injury. It is rumored that he pulled out due to promotional problems and the fact that he would most likely not get paid for the fight.

Haye had artwork created where the severed head of Wlad is held tightly in his hand as he towers above the headless body. This infuriated both Wlad and older brother Vitali. The answer to their anger was another piece of artwork featuring Haye holding both Wlad’s and Vitali’s severed heads. He knows psychological warfare, but Wlad was not ready to give up or give in. He wants to shut Haye up…even stating that he would not settle for a quick knockout. He wanted to punish him.

Wladimir went to the popular video website, Youtube, and aired his challenge to Haye and the world, stating that the British champion “bitched out” of showdowns with both he and his older brother and that the challenge was not coming from Wlad’s promotion, but Wlad himself. Haye had to take this challenge or be viewed as a man fearful of Wlad and he contends that he is not, and he doesn’t appear to be.

Haye is coming off of a vicious stoppage of former 2-Time WBA Champion, John “QuietMan” Ruiz, becoming only the second man to defeat him by knockout. Ruiz would announce his retirement shortly after the defeat. In that fight, Haye showed the power, timing and movement that are needed to beat a man like Wlad. He will not be in there to lose and expect Wlad to be more aggressive than usual. There is a lot of bad blood here and this is easily the best fight in the heavyweight division since Lennox Lewis took on Vitali Klitschko.

Coming Soon: Paul Williams – Kermit Cintron II

He was moving well, blocking and moving well, and in the fourth round, he landed well with an overhand right hand that seemed to buckle Paul Williams, the heavy favorite. Kermit Cintron would pounce and Williams would fall and so too would Cintron, but he would land out of the ring, on top of a table. The doctor was quick to rush in and keep Cintron on the floor and called for a stretcher to bring him to the hospital.

When you watch the fall, it didn’t look serious and Cintron has stated that he was ready to continue shortly after the fall and that it was the doctor that would not allow it, which led to a victory for Paul Williams, a controversial one for sure. Now, the high profile bout that ended so strangely will have a sequel, or so it appears.

It will be interesting to see how their game plans change now that they know each other inside of the ring. Cintron knows that he can confuse Williams and do some of the things that Carlos Quintana was able to do to him in their first fight, and Williams now knows that he must take “The Killer” seriously. The fireworks will be huge for this rematch. You can expect it to materialize soon.

Source: ringsidereport.com

Kermit Has Words For Those Who Say He Faked Injury; Doc Says He "No Mas'd" -- The Sweet Science

By Michael Woods, The Sweet Science

Monday AM update: Kermit says he wanted to continue, the doctor says Kermit twice said he wanted to quit.




Maybe I should not have been, but I was more than a bit surprised at the reaction of some fight fans to junior middleweight Kermit Cintron's abbreviated Saturday evening, as the boxer tumbled out of the ring early in the fourth round of his bout against Paul Williams at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, had the breath taken out of him as his back struck a TV monitor, and had ring physicians tell him that they advised the referee to halt the bout, for fear that he'd punctured a lung during the fall.

Some TSS commenters opined that they thought Cintron quit, that he deliberately exited the ring when the going got tough against Williams, that he faked being hurt, that he played up his discomfort in a deliberate bid to have the fight halted. The commentary was along the lines of what I saw when Andre Dirrell was struck while on a knee by Arthur Abraham, crumpled to the mat, and was rendered unable to continue in his March 27 bout, which ran on Showtime. Dirrell was clearly in la-la land after being hammered by Abraham, and didn't comprehend that his opponent had been disqualified for the foul, and that he'd been declared the DQ11 winner. Commenters said that Dirrell's fall to the mat looked delayed to them, and some said they thought he was looking for an exit strategy, that Abraham was coming on strong, and Dirrell knew the smartest route was a con job.

People, I'm all for you offering opinions, but this ain't right. Casting aspersions on boxers under these circumstances ain't right. The evidence these slammers offered was beyond thin. It "looked" like Dirrell had a delayed reaction; it "looked" like Cintron jumped out of the ring, and twisted his body to make it appear that he'd sustained damage.

C'mon, guys. The conspiracy theorists said Cintron has shown tendencies like this before. They say he looked lost, less than resolute, while getting cut and pounded by Antonio Margarito in 2005. This, though, he went in with an iffy hand after hurting his paw before a tuneup two months prior to the Margarito tangle. This, though, he got knocked down, and stood up, four times against the since disgraced Mexican brawler. This, though, he went after a rematch of a guy who owned him, and three years after there first tussle, again was stopped by the Mexican. Maybe people didn't think the body shot that took his breath away was legit? A year later, Margarito was busted trying to use hardened hand pad against Shane Mosley. Might he have used those weapons before? Should we not give Cintron that benefit of the doubt?

On Monday, TSS caught Cintron (32-3-1) in good spirits on the phone. His kids played, and shrieked without a care as the boxer gave the lowdown on the strange ending to the Williams bout.

"I'm doing good," he said. "I'm feeling great. I don't feel down, I thought I won." The judges said different, however, with two giving Williams the win after three rounds plus completed. "I do feel disgusted by the situation, the way the doctors took it to another level, the way they treated me. I was allowed five minutes to recover, and I never got that."

The doctor who took the lead, Paul Wallace, according to Cintron, "right away told me the fight was over." The boxer said his back hit a TV monitor, and took his breath away. "That's what I was trying to recover from. I was trying to catch my breathing. I told the doctors, 'I want to fight.'" They were holding my head down, and said I needed to get to the ER. They were being cautious, OK, but they were over-exagerrating the whole situation. They said, 'You might have a punctured lung.' That was over-exaggerated."

And to the commenters who accused him of doing a WWE style leap and acting job? "I just laugh," he said. "They're just fans behind a computer, hiding, what are they good for? They don't know what's going on. I ignore that stuff. They do it to Mayweather, too. Fans or non fans, they just want to be heard. They're trying to be somebody. I know the truth. Only I knew how I felt at that moment."

Looking ahead, Cintron said promoter Lou Dibella will seek a rematch. The fighter said he wasn't sure if his contract had a rematch clause, but thought that a rematch clause was sought, by his crew, late in negotiations. "I just want the rematch, that's a fair thing to ask for," he said. "I was beating him every round, but c'mon, you can't score the first minute of the last round. I felt I hurt him in the fourth. I hope they (Team Williams, promoter Dan Goossen) give me a match."

TSS talked with Goossen Monday evening. He said he was happy with the win, and that the action to that point wasn't scintillating, and no broadcaster is chomping at the bit for a rematch. Cintron acted as if he couldn't go on, Gossen said, and that's on him. "I've been on the other side, with a fighter wanting to continue, like Gabe Ruelas, with a broken arm in 1990, against Jeff Franklin, Ruelas said he wanted to continue, and Rahman and Toney, Rahman said no. The doctors will give you the benefit of the doubt if you give them reason to. I can't say if Kermit was hurt or wasn't hurt. You gotta show it, that you want to fight. Even Larry Merchant mentioned it, that he hasn't moved since he fell. He was at my feet, he didn't give an indication that he wanted to fight. It was a victory, but we would've preferred it a different ending, a satisfactory ending."

Next for Williams if there is no Cintron redo? "I hope Pacqauio-Mayweather does get made, but if it doesn't, we should be a challenger for one of the two," Gossen said. "I don't think we should endure another Pacquiao-Clottey type of fight. Arum is talking about Pacquiao-Margarito, Paul has beaten Margarito. Three welterweights are standing there, the third is Paul Williams. I believe one has to take the challenge up with Williams. And if Mayweather-Pacquiao gets made, then Williams should fight the winner."

Guess what? In typical Libra fashion, I see things from both the Cintron and Goossen perspective. The truth, as always, may well lie in the middle...And I'm also all for Williams getting a shot, over Margarito, against Manny if Floyd doesn't want to get it on with Pacman. Would I feel even stronger saying that if Williams had been campaigning recently at 147, yes. (LTP last made 147 on June 7, 2008 against Carlos Quintana). But I'm more keen on Floyd-Williams or Manny-LTP than Manny-Margarito; I think Manny has his way with Tony in slightly less devastating fashion than he took down Clottey. And since Mosley took apart Margarito, and Mosley had little luck, save for his crackerjack 3/4 of the second round against Floyd, one can't think that there will be much market for Margarito-Mayweather.

EARLY MONDAY UPDATE

We have a case of competing recollections here..."I did say I wanted the fight stopped because the fighter twice said he could not continue," Dr. Paul Wallace told The LA Times on Monday. "He was asked, 'Can you continue?' and he said 'no.' "Twice. If he had mentioned to me something like, 'Give me a moment ... ,' I understand; these are warriors. Any hint that he still wanted to participate we would've given that to him. We would have got him up and given him a second evaluation." Yesterday, Kermit said that was not the case. Unless some late in the game home video of the interplay between Cintron and Wallace exists, we may never get to the bottom of this controversy.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Cintron decision will remain loss for now, head of state athletic commission rules -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

The executive officer of the California State Athletic Commission has ruled that Kermit Cintron's technical split-decision loss to super-welterweight Paul Williams on Saturday at Carson's Home Depot Center will remain a defeat, although the entire commission can still hear Cintron's appeal at its next meeting in July, a state spokesman said.

Cintron's promoter and manager earlier Monday appealed to Executive Officer George Dodd to change Cintron's loss to a no-contest after the Puerto Rican former world welterweight champion became entangled with Williams and stumbled through the ropes, falling out of the ring and crashing to the floor during the fourth round.

Ringside Dr. Paul Wallace told The Times on Monday that Cintron twice told doctors he was unable to continue because of back pain, prompting Wallace to instruct referee Lou Moret that the fight should be stopped.

California rules allowed the bout to then be sent to the judges' scorecards, and while one judge gave Cintron all four rounds, another gave Williams all four rounds. The tiebreaker went to a judge who gave Williams three of the four rounds, although the fourth was never completed.

"If ever a fight cried out to be a no-contest," Cintron promoter Lou DiBella said, "this is the one."

DiBella said he received a text message from Cintron on Monday after reading Dr. Wallace's comments on latimes.com, and the fighter said he "may have said no," to the question of whether or not he wants to continue fighting, but that he was also "gasping for air" at the time and didn't fully understand the gravity of the situation.

"It was a confusing time," DiBella said. "No one was telling Kermit what the rule was, how he had a reasonable time to recover and then decide if he wanted to resume. There was no coherent instruction as to what was happening."

Wallace said he believed Cintron fully understood what was at stake, and had also told the doctors he was not experiencing any head or neck pain from the fall. The fighter was ultimately placed on a gurney with his head stabilized so he could be removed from the arena and transported to a hospital for supervision.

The loss was only the third in Cintron's career, following two defeats at the hands of former world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito.

DiBella expressed outrage that Williams' promoter, Dan Goossen, is hurriedly moving to put this event behind the fighter and move on to fights in the welterweight division, against possible foes including Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, instead of a rematch. DiBella said he is "angered" at Goossen's implications that Cintron wasn't that seriously hurt.

"Giving Kermit a loss is unfair, and will have a serious impact on his ability in this business," DiBella said. "Calling this fight a no-contest stops Goossen from doing exactly what he's doing right now."

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Kermit Cintron literally hits the floor in loss to Paul Williams -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

Kermit Cintron took a dive and lost his Saturday night super-welterweight fight to Paul Williams.

Cintron's dive wasn't the kind usually associated with boxing.

During the fourth round of a fight that was slow to become active, Puerto Rico's Cintron was rushing toward Williams when the 6-foot-3 southpaw slipped, causing Cintron's momentum to carry him through the ropes, toward a tennis-court landing at Carson's Home Depot Center that caused a fight-stopping injury.

"He hit his head twice, on a [television] monitor and then on the floor," Cintron promoter Lou DiBella said.

Cintron (32-3-1) remained face-down for minutes as Williams rested in the ring. Ringside doctor Paul Wallace then assessed that Cintron was "groggy," according to DiBella.

Cintron "feels like he's OK, he wanted to continue," DiBella said. "But the doctor said, 'No, you can't continue' "

That decision threw the fight, disputedly, to the judges' scorecards because of a California rule that says a bout can be decided by scorecards after the fourth round has begun. That differs with the Assn. of Boxing Commissions, which stipulates that four full rounds must be completed before the judges can determine a winner.

At the stoppage, almost midway through the round, judge James Jen Kin had Williams leading 40-36, judge Fritz Werner had Williams ahead 39-37, and judge Jerry Cantu gave all four rounds to Cintron, 40-36. Yet, a fourth round was judged without being completed.

Williams (39-1) accepted the victory almost in embarrassment, and suggested a rematch will be made.

"He hit me with a little [right-handed] shot, I hit him with one, we got tangled, and then he fell out of the ring," Williams said. "I know he wanted to fight. I know I wanted to fight. It's a strange way to get a win. I'll try to get a better one next time."

However, Williams' promoter, Dan Goossen, said he was not receptive "to look for a rematch." Goossen wants Williams to explore a richer fight in the welterweight division, which counts Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao as residents.

"There's nothing compelling to me, other than the uniqueness of how the fight was stopped, to do it over again," said Goossen, who also expressed some doubts about the severity of Cintron's injury.

Cintron was sent to a hospital for assessment.

DiBella and Cintron's trainer, Ronnie Shields, argued the bout should have been fought under ABC rules and should have been called a no-contest. They both demanded a rematch.

"Who should get a loss because of that?" DiBella asked. "I don't know what I can do, but I shouldn't have lost that fight. It was 3½ rounds. That's why there should be some uniform rules in boxing. Twenty years in this business, you see some weird [stuff]."

Williams started tentatively, and Cintron landed jabs and counterpunches in the first round. A good Williams left in the final 10 seconds was followed by a clean Cintron right.

The early inactivity drew heavy boos from the crowd, and Williams didn't become the pursuer until late in the third round. He landed two big lefts early in the fourth, and the action shifted left across the ring, with Cintron answering a Williams punch with a straight right before the entanglement, slip and ring dive.

Williams was hoping the fight would catapult him to a shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao, but the outcome defused all that talk.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

Source: articles.latimes.com

Williams-Cintron - Kermit Falls Out Of The Ring; Did He Also Fall Foul Of An Unjust Decision? -- Eastside Boxing

By James Slater, Eastside Boxing

Well, you'll be hard pressed to name a more bizarre ending to a fight than the one we saw last night in Carson City, CA, as Paul Williams won a four-round technical decision over Kermit Cintron. In a truly stunning ending to the contest between the two punchers, that was perhaps just beginning to catch fire, Cintron wound up basically being KO'd by a combination of dangerously loose ropes and the hard floor he crashed onto when he flew threw said loose ropes.

Unable to continue due to having hurt his head and neck (a brace was attached to the stricken fighter, before he was wheeled into a waiting ambulance), the Puerto Rican was then to receive the unpalatable news that he had actually lost the fight. Under California Commission rules, only three completed rounds have to have been fought, therefore the fight went to the cards - where a fittingly bizarre decision was announced. One judge had Cintron winning all four rounds at 40-36, one judge had Williams the victor by the same margin, while the third judge had "The Punisher" winning by a score of 39-37..

I think it's safe to say Cintron was the victim of an unjust defeat, and as soon as he is well enough to do so he and his team will, quite rightly, appeal the "loss." The correct result should surely have been a No-Contest, and for a while this was what referee Lou Moret was telling those at ringside would be the case - under ABC rules. But then the California Commission's rule book was checked and Michael Buffer announced how just three completed rounds were enough for the scorecards to be brought into play.

We've seen some weird things happen in fights over the years - the now infamous "Fan Man" incident that occurred during the Evander Holyfield-Riddick Bowe rematch in 1993 for example - but last night's events may have taken the cake. It really was shocking to see Cintron literally fly through the ropes and crash onto the monitors and then the floor the way he did. During the 4th-round - one that saw "The Killer" land a good right hand to the advancing Williams' chin shortly both men lost their footing - Cintron took to the air and then came back down with a nasty thud.

We must all hope Cintron is okay, yet at the same time the questions will be asked. Why, as Sky Sports commentator and former world champion Jim Watt demanded, were the ropes, A: so loose and, B: not tied together to prevent them from opening wide the way they did? Why, when a classic case for a No-Contest was apparent, was one not ruled? And finally, (there may well be more questions that many people may have to ask), as was also suggested during the Sky Sports broadcast I watched, will Cintron look to sue The California Commission for their shoddily erected ring?

As for last night's winner (if Williams' win actually stands in a few days or weeks time), he was asked post-fight if the whole fight was something of an anticlimax for him! Not surprisingly, Williams said, yes, it was. Wanting to make a statement that would hopefully get him a big fight with either Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao, Williams instead went home with an extremely hollow victory. No, it wasn't in any way his fault what happened to Cintron, but it must be said that Williams looked anything but sharp and accurate in the rounds preceding the bizarre ending to the fight.

Williams also mentioned new middleweight champion Sergio Martinez' name, saying the rematch can easily be made if Martinez calls him. Basing things on how he looked last night (when, who knows, he may simply have had an off night -or maybe he over trained for the fight), Williams would struggle (again in the case of Martinez) against any of the three names he called out.

As for Cintron, if his neck injury is as bad as it looked as he was being wheeled away on a stretcher, his own ring future may be in serious doubt.

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Cintron Flies Out Of Ring, Fight Halted After Three, Williams "Wins" -- The Sweet Science

By Michael Woods, The Sweet Science

Just when things started heating up, a freak accident halted the main event between junior middleweights Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night in Carson, CA. At the beginning of the fourth, the fighters got tangled, and Cintron fell out of the ring, onto a table, and then to the floor. EMTs came for Cintron, and the fight was stopped. Three rounds finished so the scorecards were read, somewhat ludicrously. I will always view this abbreviated event as a No Contest, but the judges called it 39-37, 40-36, 36-40, for Williams.

The medical personnel put a neck brace on Cintron, and put him on a stretcher. TSS wishes Cintron, who was conscious, well.

Williams (age 28; 38-1 entering; ex junior middleweight, and two time welterweight champion; 6-1 1/2; from South Carolina) weighed 152 1/2 , while Cintron (age 30; 32-2-1 entering; ex welterweight champ; 5-11; born in Puerto Rico, grew up in PA, lives in Texas to train) was 154 on Friday. The bout was shown on HBO. Before the scrap, Manny Steward, Cintron's former trainer/manager, said Kermit had a real good chance going in. He said if Kermit was emotionally strong going in, Williams could have a hard night.

Jerry Cantu, Fritz Werner and Dr. James Jen-Kin were entrusted with judging the bout.

In the first, the lefty Williams used his height, and kept distance. Kermit touched him with a jab, and a left hook. It was a cautious round.

In the second, Kermit looked to counter, but Paul was cautious, looking for a big opening. Kermit's hands looked the quicker of the two. The crowd didn't like the excess respect the two showed each other.

In the third, we heard Larry Merchant say, "So far, Paul Williams has looked like a wind turbine on a windless day." Pretty classic, I'd say. "Little too much respect from both of them," he added, astutely. Williams maybe heard, and stepped it up.

In the fourth, Cintron buzzed LTP with a right. Then they got tangled, when Williams grabbed Kermit, Williams fell into the ropes, but Kermit fell out of the ring, onto a table, and then the floor. He hit his shoulder and head, and said he wanted to continue.

Williams said he started slow on purpose, and felt bad the fans didn't get their money's worth. Going forward, he said he wants Floyd, or Manny, or if not them, a rematch with Sergio Martinez.

SPEEDBAG Larry Merchant said before the main event that we shouldn't underestimate boxing's ability to get in its own way. He was talking about the prospects for Mayweather-Pacquiao. Larry said that as of now, it looks like Floyd is looking for an alibi, a way out of fighting Manny, by way of his insistence on Olympic PED testing, far and away beyond current boxing protocol.

---Merchant learned Kelly Pavlik is done at 160, that he weighed 11 or 12 pounds over 160 24 hours before his last fight, with Sergio Martinez. He said Tim Bradley's name has come up for Mayweather and Pacquiao. Don't see that happening, risk/reward ratio is askew there.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Paul Williams Wins Four-Round, Technical Split-Decision over Kermit Cintron -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

A very flat-looking southpaw Paul Williams was rescued from an off night by Saturday night's bizzare, four-round, non-title, junior middleweight (154 pounds) technical split-decision victory over Kermit Cintron, who could not continue after apparently injuring his head, lower back and right leg after tumbling to the ringside floor before a disappointed crowd at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles.

Because more than three rounds had been completed, California State Athletic Commission rules required that the decision go to the scorecards, and that the officials score all four rounds.

As a result, judges James Jen-Kin and Fritz Werner both had it for Williams, 40-36, and, 39-37, with Jerry Cantu scoring it, 40-36, for Cintron. FanHouse had it for Cintron, 39-37, who appeared to be boxing well from a distance early on in the HBO-televised bout.

There was no title on the line for the 28-year-old Williams or the 30-year-old Cintron.
After a rather uneventful first three rounds, during which Cintron boxed well from a distance and countered effectively over Williams' right jab with a right crosses and over hand rights, the two fighters became tangled during a clinch.

As Williams lunged forward, he grabbed Cintron around the waist and fell to the canvas.

Cintron's momentum, however, carried him forward and through the ropes, where his head, back, and apparently his leg collided with a ringside television monitor and table before he landed on the floor.

Cintron lay on the floor in a semi-prone position for about five minutes, running his right glove along his right leg in pain.

The fallen fighter indicated to the ringside doctor that he wanted to continue, but was not permitted to, according to HBO commentators.

Cintron was subsequently stabilized and taken from the arena on a stetcher.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Cintron falls out of ring, Williams wins decision -- NBC Sports

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer

CARSON, Calif. - Paul Williams earned a bizarre victory Saturday night when Kermit Cintron wasn't allowed to continue after tumbling through the ropes and landing on a ringside table early in the fourth round.

The 154-pound bout ended with Cintron strapped to a stretcher and wearing a neck brace, though he wanted to get up and keep fighting.

Williams was awarded a technical victory by split decision because he led on two of the three judges' scorecards.

Williams and Cintron exchanged big shots in the early moments of the round before Williams connected with a punch and tried to clinch. When Williams slipped and fell to the canvas, Cintron tripped over Williams' leg and went headfirst through the ropes, hitting a monitor on the table.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: nbcsports.msnbc.com

Paul Williams-Kermit Cintron: 'You're Going to See Some Blood' -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Southpaw Paul Williams is nicknamed, "The Punisher," and Saturday night's opponent, Kermit Cintron, calls himself, "The Killer."

They will bring a combined record of 70-3-1, with 55 knockouts into the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles for their HBO-televised bout.

"This is one not to miss, because there are two guys in this fight who fight crowd-pleasing styles. They both have knockout power. They are both boxers. They're warriors," said Lou DiBella, who promotes Cintron, to Elie Seckbach of FanHouse. "They'll fight anybody. And when they get in there, they let it all out and they leave it in the ring."

Although each is capable of getting on his bicycle and punching in volume, Williams' manager and trainer, George Peterson, does not expect that sort of a display.

"It's going to be an exciting fight. You're going to see some blood in this fight," said Peterson. "Some of the big fights that you've witnessed in the last, two, three months or so, there was not a nose bleed, not an eye swollen. But in this one, you're going to see some blood."

There will be no title on the line for the 28-year-old Williams (38-1, 27 KOs) or the 30-year-old Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs), who will fight at the 154-pound, junior middleweight limit.

But what is on the line for each of the former world champions is a potential lucrative payday, perhaps against a Manny Pacquiao, a Floyd Mayweather, a Sergio Martinez or an Alfredo Angulo.

"Paul Williams and I are not here for the money. We're trying to fight the best and be the best. I believe Paul Williams is the best, and he believes I'm the best, and that's why we're fighting," said Cintron.

"A lot of fighters are avoiding us, but my attitude is to fight the best. To be the best, you have to fight the best," said Cintron. "That's why I'm here -- to fight the best and win, and be closer to the bigger fights."

The nearly 6-foot-3 Williams has fought in the welterweight (147), junior middleweight and middleweight (160 pounds) divisions and still maintains his versatility to do so.



"It isn't killing us so far. Everything's good. So if it's not broke don't fix it. To me it's kind of fun. People can't really categorize me," said Williams.

"It's hard, because you can't get anybody to fight you," said Williams. "It takes discipline because once you finally pick a weight, you've got to get up or down in weight. I kind of like it."

Cintron has competed mostly at 147 pounds but has fought above that weight close to 15 times, including his past three matchups, which have been as a junior middleweight.

"All of them are comfortable for me. The weight doesn't matter to me," said Cintron. "I'm more comfortable with getting a fight and then working on what we've got to work on."

Williams is coming off of December's 160-pound, majority decision victory over Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs), a clash of southpaws that ended Martinez's run of 28-0-1, with 18 knockouts since being stopped by Antonio Margarito in February of 2000.

Already the WBC junior middleweight champion, Martinez dethroned Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) last month for the WBC and WBO middleweight titles by unanimous decision.

Although Williams was cut badly around both eyes and required post-fight surgery following his bout with Martinez, he enjoyed virtually every minute of their fight.

"When we fought, I had looked into the crowd, and I got caught, and I didn't see the punch and I went down. So I was like, 'We've got to get it, now.' But it was a good thing for the fans, because they got to see a good, drag out fight," said Williams of a battle during which both competitors were floored in the first round.

"Mr. Peterson, he was kind of mad at me, because he was telling me to go to the body and all of that, but I was so pumped up because I had got dropped. And I was in the mind frame like, 'Okay, this a war, this is a fight, this is what everybody comes out to see -- two guys, going back and forth,'" said Williams.

"And I was in my rhythm, so I was like, 'I'm just going to go get it the way that I can get it.' I could have done a lot better, with head movement and stuff like that, but I just wanted to fight," said Williams. "I wanted to make him fight, tire him out in the later rounds. I knew that if I could have gone to the body and maybe stopped him, but I was looking for a head shot. I wanted to spank him."




Williams is riding a five-bout winning streak that includes three knockouts since being dethroned as WBO welterweight champ via unanimous decision against Puerto Rican southpaw Carlos Quintana (27-2, 21 KOs) in February of 2008.

Williams regained the crown from Quintana with a first-round knockout in their return bout in June 2008, his first of three consecutive first-round stoppages.

Prior to facing Martinez, Williams dominated a one-sided, unanimous decision over former world champion Winky Wright in April at 160 pounds.

"Kermit's a big puncher and can box, too. I've shown that I'm a big puncher and I'm a boxer too. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. I don't care what people think about me as a fighter,"

"I just have to go out and do my thing," said Williams. "I just have to go out and execute my game plan and my strategy, because you could be looking for one thing then get another thing."

Cintron is 3-0-1 with one knockout since losing his IBF title by sixth-round knockout in April 2008 to Margarito, whom Williams dethroned by decision to become WBO king in July 2007.

Cintron, who lost by knockout to Margarito for the second time, is coming off October's junior middleweight stoppage of Juliano Ramos (15-3, 12 KOs).

Prior to Ramos, Cintron earned a May 2009, 12-round unanimous decision over Alfredo Angulo in a WBC title eliminator matchup before battling Martinez to a disputed draw in February 2009.

"I think that it's going to be a great, great fight, no matter who wins. I think that you're going to see great entertainment and great boxing," said DiBella.

"I agree with Mr. Peterson that you're going to see some blood in this fight," said DiBella. "I just believe that it's going to be his guy that's going to do most of the bleeding."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Boxer Paul Williams wants to step down to move up -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

"A 6-foot-3 guy who can fight at 147 pounds, a guy who can travel three weight divisions who's never in a bad fight, left-handed, throws 100 punches a round and doesn't take a step backward," HBO's vice president of sports programming and boxing coordinator Kery Davis says, reeling off Williams' attributes without speaking falsely. "There's real potential for superstardom."

So why hasn't it arrived?

Williams, 28, will fight former world welterweight champion Kermit Cintron on Saturday night in a super-welterweight bout at Home Depot Center in Carson. Somewhere around 8,000 people -- maybe less -- will come to watch, and the bout will be televised by regular HBO, not pay-per-view.

If he wins by stoppage, Williams will be 39-1 with 28 knockouts, and his promoter, Dan Goossen, has taken to calling this bout "The Weight is Over," pressing the suggestion that Williams is willing to move back down to welterweight (where he hasn't fought since June 2008) to take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao if their possible super-fight fails to get made again.

"We just want to make the statement that we're a welterweight, and we're here," Goossen said. "We did that to enlarge the pool of opponents. To me, there's only three great welterweights still standing.

"If Floyd takes this fight, it'd do more at the gate and on pay-per-view than Mayweather-[Shane]Mosley did. Paul's fresher than Mosley, he's established himself, he'd make a real fight. The days of Pacquiao against the recyclables like [Joshua] Clottey, [Miguel] Cotto or [Antonio] Margarito are over too. You make a fight with the recyclables and it hurts the sport. If Pacquiao-Mayweather is not made, the focus has to go to Paul Williams."

That's Goossen's idea, but he's alone in his thoughts.

Mayweather's locked in on Pacquiao, and HBO officials have made it known that "Plan A is Plan B, C, D, E and F too. ... It's too important for the sport," Davis says. When he was pressed about anyone else to consider last week, Mayweather discussed only newly crowned middleweight champ Sergio Martinez.

Why even mention Williams? He's fresh off a December majority decision over Martinez, and since his name recognition is a work in progress, one boxing authority who knows the business well but requested anonymity said, "Paul's probably the last in line in Floyd's mind. Paul's just too good."

Pacquiao's Plan B at times seems like it's his fight of choice: a fall date against Mexico's popular anti-hero Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. Williams has already beaten Margarito too, by decision in 2007.

The purer reality is perhaps a rematch with Martinez, or a shot at the winner of next month's Yuri Foreman-Cotto super-welterweight title fight.

"We're kind of used to this, we don't get bent out of shape," Williams' trainer George Peterson said. "If I was another manager, I wouldn't want my guy to fight this kid. You ever see him fight? You ever see anyone call him out?"

Williams too expresses a saint's patience and says he trusts that Goossen and Wizard of Oz-like manager Al Haymon care for him as best they can.

"I'm just a boxer. The people who got me here, that's who I roll with," Williams said. "That's my loyalty. I'm going to stand my ground. I'm not hurting for nothing. I got some real estate. I don't have to go digging in my pocket for a sandwich.

"I'd love to get a $30-million fight. That's what I was doing at 147 before, but I went seven months without a fight and had bills coming. Good things come to those who wait. The fans will realize, 'This guy puts on good fights,' and my time will come."

For now, the challenge is Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs), whose lone losses are to Margarito and who last year fought Martinez to a disputed draw and beat the tough Alfredo Angulo.

"This is a great opportunity for me," Cintron, 30, said. "Supposedly, he's one of the best pound-for-pound fighters; this is a great opportunity to showcase my skills. I think what people say about him is a bit overblown. I'm pretty much just going to bring it to him."

The Saturday mission, Goossen says, is "setting the stage for where we want to be, so we can let Paul do whatever he wants. We know the fight everyone wants to see is Mayweather-Pacquiao, but the next name is Paul Williams and with a win Saturday, he's the most exciting guy out there."

The plan to drive that point home? "I'm going to try and hurt him," Williams said.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

Source: latimes.com

Cintron first on long list for Williams -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

Paul Williams a middleweight? A junior middleweight? Welterweight? Who knows? It all depends on which day you catch "The Punisher."

In his past five fights, Williams has fought in all three divisions -- welterweight, then at middleweight, then junior middleweight and then his last two bouts again at middleweight.

He's has had success in all three divisions. He's a former two-time welterweight titleholder, a former interim junior middleweight titleholder and, in his most recent fight in December, he beat the guy, Sergio Martinez, who would go on to win the middleweight championship in his following bout.

"I've been asked the same questions so many times about fighting in different weight classes, if I feel I am getting slighted, that sort of stuff, that my answers are almost like turning on a recorder and listening to it play, but only with my mouth moving," Williams said. "But, make no mistake, I don't mind getting the attention and all the questions. I am confident and comfortable fighting in different weight classes and I will continue to do so for as long as I can and it is feasible.

"Whatever the weight is, my mindset is -- and always has been -- to fight to the end. I think that is my greatest advantage. I'm satisfied with the way things are going."

Williams is returning to junior middleweight to tangle with big puncher Kermit Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs), a former welterweight titleholder, in a scheduled 12-rounder Saturday night (HBO, 9:45 ET) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. HBO will open the telecast by replaying last Saturday's Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley pay-per-view bout.

But which division is really home for Williams (38-1, 27 KOs), who has bounced around the three weight classes in an effort to find the biggest fights?

Even though the lanky Williams is 6-foot-2, he and his team insist he can make the 147-pound welterweight limit and they are sick of hearing and reading that he can't, even though he hasn't fought in the division since drilling Carlos Quintana in the first round in their 2008 rematch.

Trainer George Peterson is probably more sick of the comments than anyone.

"Paul is saying, "Give me a 147-pounder and let me show you that I can make 147 pounds,'" a slightly annoyed Peterson said. "And if you are still that much in doubt then watch us eat breakfast before the weigh-in."

Promoter Dan Goossen said the only reason Williams has moved up and down in weight is because none of the top welterweights will give him the time of day, even though it's the division he prefers to fight in.

"With the welterweight division, it's getting harder and harder to find takers out there mainly because of the size discrepancy," Goossen said. "But it's not Paul's fault that he's 6-foot-2 and has a longer reach than the Klitschkos. But what has never left us is that we're looking to crack that superstardom, and the way to do that is to make the super fight. It's been no secret that's Paul's best weight is 147."

Like every other welterweight on the planet, the dream matches are against Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

"You throw any of the top welters out there and they've gone by the wayside now," Goossen said. "The [Miguel] Cottos, the [Antonio] Margaritos. I mean, Paul got rid of Margarito [in 2007] when no one wanted to. Cotto was dispatched by Margarito. So there are three welterweights that are out there today and they should all be mentioned in the same breath and that's Pacquiao, Mayweather and Williams. When everything is said and done, Paul is a 147-pounder. To be the best and to be the greatest and to be No. 1, I don't believe anyone can really say that until they get in the ring with Paul Williams. It may not be today or it may not be tomorrow but eventually Paul Williams will get his opportunity to show what we've been saying for the past two or three years. It will all come to fruition."

In his last bout, Williams eked out a majority decision against Martinez in a tremendous action fight. Williams had hoped to either face Martinez in a rematch or challenge Kelly Pavlik for the middleweight title in a fight that had already been called off three times previously. But when Pavlik and Martinez made a deal, it left Williams looking for another fight, and Cintron, whom Williams almost fought a few different times over the past few years, got the call.

"This fight has been in the works since 2006 when he was WBO champion and I was IBF champion. We were supposed to fight a unification fight back then," Cintron said. "There've been talks three or four times since, but the time wasn't right. Now, for me, the timing is perfect and I am very confident. You can call Williams a 'feared' fighter or whatever, but he's just another fighter for me. This will be an interesting fight because we've both overcome some obstacles to get here. Stylewise, it could be the fight of the year."

Cintron has fought his past three bouts at junior middleweight after a career at welterweight, so Williams is moving down to face him and enjoys confounding folks with his division hopping.

"To me, it's kind of fun," Williams said. "People can't really categorize me. It's hard because you can't get anybody to fight you. It takes discipline because once you finally pick a weight you've got to get up or down in weight. I kind of like it. [Moving divisions] isn't killing us so far. Everything's good. So if it's not broke don't fix it."

"Right now, Cintron is my main focus. The guy right in front of me is always my main focus. I don't think about any other possible fights. If I'm asked, I'll talk about it, but otherwise my sole concentration is my next fight. But my thing is I'll fight anybody if the money is right."

Donaire-Darchinyan rematch implodes

The proposed rematch between junior bantamweight champ Vic Darchinyan and interim titlist Nonito Donaire, slated for Aug. 21 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., is off.

Donaire scored a sensational fifth-round knockout of Darchinyan in a 2007 upset and there has been talk about a rematch since. They got close, but it fell through.

According to Darchinyan promoter Gary Shaw, it came down to a disagreement over international television rights and Darchinyan's team was tired of waiting for Donaire to sign the contract for which talks began almost six weeks ago.

"It was an easy fight to make and Showtime bought it right away and I have the Home Depot Center on hold," Shaw said. "I have nothing bad to say about Top Rank but the breakdown was on the international rights. Every day I would get calls from Vic's manager and be bombarded by e-mails to either make the fight or move on. I said let's be patient. Then I got an e-mail from Team Darchinyan saying they weren't going to wait. They said it shouldn't take five weeks to make a fight between 115 pounders who say they want to fight each other."

Top Rank's Carl Moretti, however, said the foreign TV situation had been ironed out and only after Top Rank agreed, did Darchinyan's management tell Shaw to pull the plug.

Shaw said Darchinyan will still fight Aug. 21 on Showtime on a telecast that is slated to also include the Carl Froch-Arthur Abraham Super Six bout from Europe.

Shaw said Darchinyan is interested in facing unified bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel; the winner of the May 22 bout between bantamweight titlist Yonnhy Perez and Abner Mares or moving to featherweight to face the winner of the May 22 main event, the fourth bout between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez.

Darchinyan won't get Montiel, according to Moretti. Top Rank co-promotes him with Fernando Beltran and they have no intention of giving Darchinyan the fight because Montiel-Donaire is a fight they'd like to do.

"That's a distinct possibility for the fall," Moretti told ESPN.com.

Moretti and Shaw worked for weeks to get Donaire-Darchinyan done but, said Moretti, "At the end of the day, it just couldn't be made. Life goes on. Darchinyan has the belts at 115 and knows he may never get to avenge a terrible beating. Besides, I'm dealing with bigger issues like my daughter's senior prom this weekend. Her date is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound all-county linebacker."

Moretti said Donaire could probably would fight in July before the possible fight with Montiel.

Familiar face

In September 2008, before Amir Khan claimed a junior welterweight title, he was blown out in 54 seconds by Colombian's Breidis Prescott (21-2, 18 KOs) in a lightweight bout. It was a shocking upset, although Khan rebounded to win his next four fights, including a 140-pound title against Andreas Kotelnik.

Now, Khan will see Prescott, who is 1-2 since his big win, again next week in New York. The reason? While Khan is slated to defend against New York's Paulie Malignaggi on HBO next Saturday at the Madison Square Garden Theater, Prescott faces Jason Davis on the undercard now that he's signed a co-promotional deal with Lou DiBella, who also promotes Malignaggi. Obviously, a rematch with Khan could loom in the future.

"Breidis still needs a little more work, but he punches like a mule and he holds a win over one of the hottest guys in the division, which means there's a big rematch for him down the road," DiBella told ESPN.com. "I don't know how big it will be after Paulie beats Khan but I'm sure it's a fight that Khan, a proud, young kid wants to avenge."

Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com.

Source: espn.go.com

Williams, Cintron take aim at greatness -- Orange County Register

By MARK WHICKER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SHERMAN OAKS – When Paul Williams walks into The Home Depot Center ring Saturday night, will he overlook Kermit Cintron?

Of course. Williams is 6-foot-3, at least. Cintron is 5-foot-11, or thereabouts. Every time Williams comes to receive the instructions, he's overlooking somebody. Everybody but Rick James has called him a "freak of nature."

But when Williams showed up at Sisley Restaurant here Wednesday, promoter Dan Goossen and trainer George Peterson started talking about Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Since Williams is 38-1 with 27 knockouts and has roamed through three divisions spreading havoc, they feel that a fight with either Magic or Bird, boxing version, is Williams' destiny.

"I think they're looking over me," Cintron said, "but I keep myself pretty quiet when it comes to that. Come Saturday it will be a hell of a fight. I'm ready to go 12 hard rounds."

Right, which is why Williams had better pull down the periscope and look straight at Cintron. Besides, how can Williams look past Cintron when he knows exactly who's behind him?

If Cintron can make Williams go 12 rounds, or even beat him, that will not enhance the marketability of a fighter so dangerous that nobody wants any part of him anyway, and so lightly recognized that every time you mention Williams, promoter Bob Arum sneers, "He can't sell a ticket."

Williams has only two knockouts in his past seven fights. Although he generates better punch stats than anybody, he needs to do something You Tube-able to make himself attractive to either Mayweather or Pacquiao and the pay-per-view accountants.

That is pressure, because the act of defeating Cintron has eluded all but one man.

That man, Antonio Margarto, did it twice, but Cintron is coming off a draw with Sergio Martinez, now the middleweight champ after he conquered Kelly Pavlik, and an impressive victory over Alfredo Angulo.

"Kermit shouldn't have fought Margarito the first time because he had been off for a year with a broken hand and they just threw him in there," said Ronnie Shields, who has trained Cintron in his past four victories. "The second time, I didn't see him throw a jab. I didn't see body shots. Kermit just tried to overpower him, and you don't do that to Margarito."

Cintron made a reputation with his large right hand and his uppercut. Now, he says, he's learned to move as well as stick.

"I need to be smart in the ring and be myself," Cintron said. "I used to be concerned with what the media said, with the stupid comments people make. People wanted me to knock everybody out. It's in my nature, of course, but it's not always gonna happen."

Williams is favored because he beat Martinez and Margarito, and because his nonstop offense has served as his best defense. But if somebody can slip inside that car-wash attack, there are some ribs there to be punished.

"Paul doesn't fight to his height," Cintron said. "And people always have the wrong game plan. They don't put pressure on him. They try to box him and move him around. What you have to do is step on his foot and move him back. It'll be interesting to see if he can take my punches. We'll throw the uppercut in there as well."

"Paul has a bigger name but Kermit is a better fighter," Shields said. "He just had to be more than Kermit The Knockout Guy. I train guys to fight 12 rounds. If you don't knock the guy out in the third round, then what? You got nine rounds left.

"But Kermit came to the sport late. He didn't fight in the amateurs as soon as Paul did. In comparison he's really a younger guy."

Even by the calendar, the 30-year-old Cintron is only three months older, even though his years have been harder.

When his mother died, 8-year-old Kermit and his family moved from Puerto Rico to Warminster, Pa., where he lived with his uncle, a former fighter named Ben Serrano. Cintron's father died five years later. Cintron became a noted high school wrestler and was 10th in a junior college wrestling tournament before he turned to boxing at age 19.

Now he can impress boxing's revitalized fan base. The Mayweather-Pacquiao dealings have stimulated the general appetite, even in the wake of Mayweather's repetitive romp over Shane Mosley.

"It was boring," Shields said. "Shane looked like he was 50 years old. But Floyd can do that. He's a great fighter."

Yeah, like 41-0 great. They say every fighter is a sucker for someone else's style. Where on earth can we find someone whose style trumps Mayweather's?

"Kermit Cintron," Shields said, with a smile. "Strong guy with a jab. That's what you need."

mwhicker@ocregister.com

Source: ocregister.com