By Sammy Rozenberg
In a huge upset at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California, Carlos Quintana (25-1, 19KOs), an 8-1 underdog, stepped in the ring and fought the fight of his life in winning a unanimous decision over Paul "The Punisher" Williams (33-1, 24KOs) to win the WBO welterweight title. The scores were 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112.
Quintana used his quick movement and the left hand to pile up the points on the scorecards. Williams was never able to land a significant punch to change the tide.
The left hand of Quintana was landing flush in every round and knocking Williams' head back, and back, and then back again. Just like Quintana exposed the then unbeaten Joel Julio in 2006, he did the same with Williams, who at 6’1 and possessing an 82-inch reach, was regarded as the most avoided welterweight in the entire division.
Williams never utilized an effective jab and he barely threw any punches to the body to slow Quintana down. Quintana appeared to get tired in the middle rounds, but then found a second wind around the ninth round, and continued to win change the momentum once again.
By the tenth round, Williams was bleeding above both eyes and from the nose. The right eye of Williams was swelling and he starting to miss punches in desperation. Another smart tactic by Quintana was to come to the chest of Williams and smother him before the much taller fighter could counter.
The fight was in Williams' backyard, but the effort put forth by Quintana won the entire crowd over.
At the end of 2006, Quintana appeared to be finished as a top contender after he was crushed by Miguel Cotto over five-rounds. Now he's back as one of the top fighters at the weight.
The fighters are out there for Quintana, but the immediate options in the welterweight division are not. Most of the big names may not be as eager to fight a spoiler like Quintana and even if they were, their schedules are already loaded for most of the majority of the year.
WBC welterweight champion and the number-one pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Floyd Mayweather Jr., is not going to fight until his September rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. The De La Hoya rematch is going to make Mayweather around $20 million dollars. There is no way that Floyd, a self-admitted businessman, will jeopardize another De La Hoya payday for a fight with Quintana.
Miguel Cotto, the man Quintana probably wants most, is fighting Contender star Alfonso Gomez on April 12. On the undercard, IBF champion Kermit Cintron will fight in a rematch against Antonio Margarito. Cotto, should he win, will fight the winner of Cintron-Margarito in July.
A fighter like Shane Mosley, who is looking for a May opponent, could be an option. Mosley is currently in talks with Zab Judah and Ricardo Mayorga, but a title shot may sway him to Quintana.
Williams will have to go back to the gym and working on his deficiencies. He appeared to be a bit sluggish and might be killing himself to make 147. He was 164-pounds by the time he entered the ring to fight Quintana. He made a name for himself by winning the title from Antonio Margarito six-months ago. Now he needs to start from scratch to regain the "Punisher" reputation he lost tonight.
On the undercard;
Welterweight contender Andre Berto (21-0, 18 KOs) battered Michel Trabant (43-3, 19KOs) on route to a sixth-round technical knockout.
The damage Berto was inflicting was brutal to watch. Berto's quick uppercuts were knocking Trabant's head all the way back. Trabant stayed on the defensive for the entire fight with Berto landing a variety of punches from all angles.
In the fifth and sixth rounds, Trabant was barely able to land a single punch, he was too busy taking punches to the head. Trabant told the referee after six-rounds that he was no longer willing to continue with the fight. Trabant had never been stopped in his career.
Heavyweight contender Chris "The Nightmare" Arreola (23-0, 21 KOs) took out journeyman Cliff Couser (26-15-2, 14 KOs) in less than two-minutes of the first round, handing Couser his third straight knockout loss.
Arreola came out with his usual aggressive style and battered Couser until he was forced to go down from the punishment and the referee stopped the fight. Couser, who was stopped in two-rounds by Monte Barrett in December, may have to consider retirement after being knocked out four times in his last five fights, and all four have come in two rounds or less.