Boxing: Saul Alvarez vs Paul Williams

By Jason Kim: Undefeated WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KO’s) could be taking a huge step up in class against former two time welterweight champion Paul Williams (41-2, 27 KO’s) on September 15th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. RingTV is reporting that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is saying that the #6 WBC Williams is a potential opponent for the 21-year-old Alvarez for September 15th. However, Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are also possible opponents as well for Alvarez, but not quite as likely. Schaefer said to RingTV “Canelo is one of those guys who wants to fight any and everybody, so he has absolutely no fear. He looked sensational against [Shane] Mosley, and we believe that he is the best 154 pounder. Obviously, Paul Williams would be a big challenge…so we shall see.” I would disagree with Alvarez looking sensational against Mosley. I thought he looked pretty average, as he was hit a lot by Mosley, and seemed to be fading late in the fight. If this was a bigger opponent with better power, Alvarez would have had problem because his defense is nonexistent. I think Williams could be a lot of problems for Alvarez, because Williams does well against slow stationary fighters like Alvarez, and he won’t have to worry about much from Alvarez other than being able to handle his heavy hands and constant pressure. Williams looked good in his last fight against Nobuhiro Ishida last February, beating him by a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision. However, that was against an opponent that was made to order for Williams. He didn’t look good in his fight before that against Erislandy Lara last year in July, as Williams won a controversial 12 round majority decision in a fight where Williams appeared to lose by a lopsided decision. Lara is a quick southpaw with big power, and that made things much tougher for Williams.