By Rick Reeno
Later tonight at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, the future of the welterweight division will be showcased on HBO.
In the main event, WBO welterweight champion Paul "The Punisher" Williams (33-0, 24 KOs) will defend his title against the once-beaten Carlos Quintana (24-1, 19 KOs) of Puerto Rico.
Williams is coming off his career-defining win over Antonio Margarito. In a very close fight, Williams was able to withstand the late charge of Margarito to win a twelve-round decision and the WBO title. His physical dimensions have made him one of the most avoided fighters in the welterweight division.
Looking at Williams, it's hard to believe he's only listed as 6'1. He appeared to be several inches taller than the 5'11 Margarito, who himself is a very tall welterweight. Williams also has that humongous 81-inch reach, giving him the same length of reach as IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Against Margarito, he was up against a power-puncher with much slower hands. Quintana is not a big hitter, but he's a decent hitter and he can box very well. Williams showed a good chin after being tagged by several big punches from Margarito in the final three-rounds of their fight. Williams also has a very high punch output. He can easily maintain a pace of throwing over 100-punches per round.
Two fights ago, Quintana was brutally stopped in five-rounds by current WBA champion Miguel Cotto. After being beaten up for five-rounds, Quintana told his corner that he was unwilling to come out for the sixth-round. If Quintana begins to take the same kind of punishment from Williams, he's likely to search for the same kind of exit. It's always a mystery how a fighter will react under pressure after taking such a pounding in his only loss. I think Quintana a made a mistake by taking a fight with Williams so soon. He should have taken a few more fighters before challenging one of the most dangerous fighters at the weight.
In the co-feature, undefeated, former Olympian Andre Berto (20-0, 17KOs) will meet German veteran Michel Trabant (43-2-1, 19KOs). Trabant will a better opponent than most people are expecting. He's fought some tough fighters during his career and his only two losses came by way of close decisions to Jose Rivera and Frederic Klose. Trabant, still only 29-years-old, provides a decent test for budding star.
Round by Round Coverage begins at 9:45 PM Eastern Standard Time . Round by Round Coverage is for Registered Users only. Registration is 100% FREE . To register, please CLICK HERE.
Registered users can CLICK HERE to join the live Round by Round Coverage.