By Rick Reeno
There were very few who expected this fight to actually happen - but the fight is going to happen on September 15, live on pay-per-view, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (40-0-1, 29KOs) will defend his title against Paul “The Punisher” Williams (41-2, 27KOs).
Williams, standing at 6’3 and having a reach of 82 inches, has a clear physical advantage over the 5’9 champion with a reach of 71 inches. Williams throws a lot of punches per round and he doesn't get tired. Unbeaten at 154, Williams suffered a loss at 147 in 2008 and another at 160 in 2010.
Canelo, easily the biggest rising star in Golden Boy's stable, is for the first time facing an opponent where a lot of experts are picking the opponent to win. Golden Boy is will aware of the danger involved, says Schaefer, but the fight was necessary for Canelo's development as a future superstar and the public deserved to see a legitimate pay-per-view event.
"There is no question, this is a big fight and dangerous fight and an exciting fight. This is a fight where if you put up a poll, you are probably going to have 50% pick Paul Williams and 50% pick Canelo - but that's what a pay-per-view is about. Who the hell wants to see a fight where everybody already knows who's going to win? You shouldn't even see those fights on HBO or Showtime, let alone on pay-per-view," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.
"You want to do exciting fights, where there will be blood, where there will be action, where there will be a toe to toe battle - and that's what pay-per-view is about. It's about entertainment and giving people their monies worth and you saw that in the big fight on Cinco De Mayo, on May 5th, Mayweather came to fight, all of those guys [on the show] came to fight."
There is no finalized deal for the pay-per-view outlet - HBO or Showtime - but a deal is expected shortly.
"I'm going to be working on that in the coming couple of days and we'll make announcement. I'm not yet prepared to make an announcement," Schaefer said.