By Keith Idec (photo by Jan Sanders/Goossen Tutor)

Nearly a year has passed since Kermit Cintron out-boxed Alfredo Angulo in an HBO bout that was designed to showcase Angulo against a credible former welterweight champion.

Cintron won the fight, a WBC junior middleweight elimination match, 116-112 on all three scorecards. He survived the previously unbeaten Angulo’s power, stuck to his game plan and scored the most noteworthy win of his nine-year pro career.

Since then, Angulo (18-1, 15 KOs), whose relentless pressure and reliable chin make for tremendous television fights, already has fought on HBO twice. The rugged Mexican contender knocked out overmatched Harry Joe Yorgey (22-1-1, 10 KOs) in the third round Nov. 7 in Hartford, Conn., and recorded a sensational one-punch, 11th-round knockout against Joel Julio (35-4, 31 KOs) two weeks ago in Ontario, Calif.

Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs) has been limited to a non-televised fifth-round TKO of unknown Brazilian Juliano Ramos (16-3, 13 KOs) on Oct. 24 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“It is what it is,” Cintron said. “I’m not going to cry about it. I know I beat his ass and I just move forward in my career. I’m just looking forward to [tonight] and putting on a good show.”

Cintron will return to HBO tonight, again as an opponent for a fighter the network has slowly but surely been building into a star.

Only this time, Cintron is considered even a bigger underdog against a man generally regarded as one of the top five pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Fighting Paul Williams (38-1, 27 KOs), about a 6-1 favorite according to several Internet sports books, is an opportunity for the 30-year-old Cintron to totally alter his career path.

“To be the best you have to fight the best,” Cintron said. “That’s why I’m here — to fight the best and win. And be closer to the bigger fights.”

Truthfully, this is as big of a fight as Cintron could ask for, other than fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao at welterweight, a weight at which Cintron hasn’t competed since November 2008. Williams isn’t a pay-per-view attraction who packs large arenas or football stadiums, but the 6-foot-1 southpaw from Augusta, Ga., has power, an appealing style and enough defensive deficiencies to keep his fights interesting.

The 28-year-old Williams has been avoided by some fighters, but Cintron can’t wait to get in the ring with him at the Home Depot Center tonight in a 12-round, non-title fight that’ll be broadcast following a replay of the Mayweather-Shane Mosley fight at 9:45 p.m. EDT.

“Now, for me, the timing is perfect and I am very confident,” Cintron said. “You can call Williams a feared fighter or whatever, but he’s just another fighter for me.”

Cintron has fought two of the three most accomplished opponents on Williams’ resume, Antonio Margarito and Sergio Martinez. The contrasting results of those fights are among the reasons Williams is heavily favored over Cintron.

While Williams out-pointed Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs, 1 NC) in their July 2007 welterweight title fight at the Home Depot Center, Margarito knocked out Cintron twice. Cintron claimed he wasn’t mentally or physically prepared for their first fight, a fifth-round technical knockout win for Margarito five years ago in Las Vegas. Cintron all but suffered a meltdown during that fight, in which he was bloodied and battered by Margarito.

He was well-prepared for their rematch nearly three years later in Atlantic City, and had changed trainers, from Marshall Kaufman to International Boxing Hall-of-Famer Emanuel Steward. The Reading, Pa., native suffered a similar fate, however, a sixth-round knockout from a Margarito body blow.

Those two losses to Margarito might be viewed differently now that Margarito has been caught cheating, but Williams was able to defeat Margarito between Margarito’s two fights against Cintron.

After losing the Margarito rematch, Cintron’s next stern test came against Martinez in February 2009.

Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs) beat Cintron twice that night, first by technical knockout when referee Frank Santore counted out Cintron at the end of the seventh round after Cintron took a knee to recover from Martinez’s overhand left. Once the bizarre bout continued after the seventh, Martinez did more than enough to earn a unanimous decision win, but was forced to settle for an almost-criminal majority draw (116-110, 113-113, 113-113).

Williams’ majority decision win against Martinez wasn’t convincing, either, but Williams was much more competitive against the since-crowned middleweight champion from Argentina in their 12-round junior middleweight fight on Dec. 5 in Atlantic City.

It is thus up to Cintron to prove he can consistently perform at an elite level, that the Angulo fight wasn’t an anomaly.

“If I do my thing and be myself,” Cintron said, “use my skills and stick to the game plan, I’ll win it [tonight].”

Cintron thinks their styles could generate the fight of the year, a plausible prediction when you consider that they both can punch, Williams never stops throwing punches and Cintron will certainly be presented with opportunities to hit Williams with flush punches because, for all his accomplishments, Williams isn’t all that difficult to touch.

“[Tonight] is going to be a real fight between two hungry guys doing their best to get their hand raised at the end,” Williams said. “It’s not personal, but he’ll be out throwing punches and trying to hurt me, and I’ll be trying to hurt him.  If he catches me with his best shot, I’ll still be standing.  When I catch him with my best shot, look out. It may be a different [scenario].”

Lou DiBella, Cintron’s promoter, is eager to see how Williams withstands Cintron’s power.

“Kermit’s not only the biggest puncher Paul has been in there with,” DiBella said, “but he’s also a guy capable of boxing beautifully and boxing to victory, which he did in what I thought was a very one-sided win over Alfredo Angulo.

“I think you’re going to see fireworks [tonight] on both sides. I do expect a barnburner. Truly, anyone can win this fight and that’s what boxing is all about. It’s about guys trying to entertain. Both these guys take and throw big blows. Both these guys know how to box and both these guys are warriors.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.