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According to Sportsnation, 57% say NO, the Punisher doesn't need to hang em up, with 43% saying otherwise, that he should retire. Here are two arguments, one for staying and the other for going
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According to Sportsnation, 57% say NO, the Punisher doesn't need to hang em up, with 43% saying otherwise, that he should retire. Here are two arguments, one for staying and the other for going
Originally posted by ESPN/Igor Guryashin
There was a time when Paul Williams could give and take blows in equal measure. His appetite for absorbing punches matched his hunger for throwing them. With a raptor-like reach longer than that of heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, coupled with his ability to throw upwards of 1,000 punches a night, the 6-foot-1 Williams towered over his shorter, slower and overwhelmed foes.
For the fight fan, it was a dream. For the man in the opposite corner, a tall, blurry nightmare.
But should the man who for years was considered the most avoided fighter in the sport now seriously consider retiring?
Yes. And rightly so.
In last November's rematch with Sergio Martinez, Williams found himself on the receiving end of a punch even he could not stomach. Williams dropped his right hand, Martinez unleashed a piston-like overhand left, and Williams was unconscious before he hit the canvas. Eyes glazed and motionless on the floor, the Williams of old passed.
In his July 7 return, against Cuban Erislandy Lara, Williams looked bad. To argue otherwise would be as ridiculous as the scorecards that were returned in Williams' favor. No one thought Williams was sharp. Not the fans nor his trainer George Peterson (who told his fighter in the corner that he needed a knockout), and I don't believe that Williams, deep down, believed it himself.
Lara built a plan from a blueprint that Sergio Martinez had drawn up, and now anyone can follow it. Williams drops his right hand, leaves himself open to lefts and, at age 30, can seemingly do nothing to stop it. Williams is loyal and, unlike his right hand, won't drop George Peterson. He should, if he wants to continue. Some coaches can take their charges only so far.
If a third fight with Martinez gets made, then Williams needs to ask himself if the purse is worth the damage he would take in a fight in which he would be a heavy underdog. Some things you can't put a price on. So why not just call it a day?
Williams can look back on his career with a great degree of pride. He routed Winky Wright and outlasted Antonio Margarito. He defeated Martinez in their first dazzling encounter. But if a damaged Williams chooses to continue taking fights, there may come a day when he won't be able to remember those highs at all. Perhaps it's time for "The Punisher" to stop punishing himself.
For the fight fan, it was a dream. For the man in the opposite corner, a tall, blurry nightmare.
But should the man who for years was considered the most avoided fighter in the sport now seriously consider retiring?
Yes. And rightly so.
In last November's rematch with Sergio Martinez, Williams found himself on the receiving end of a punch even he could not stomach. Williams dropped his right hand, Martinez unleashed a piston-like overhand left, and Williams was unconscious before he hit the canvas. Eyes glazed and motionless on the floor, the Williams of old passed.
In his July 7 return, against Cuban Erislandy Lara, Williams looked bad. To argue otherwise would be as ridiculous as the scorecards that were returned in Williams' favor. No one thought Williams was sharp. Not the fans nor his trainer George Peterson (who told his fighter in the corner that he needed a knockout), and I don't believe that Williams, deep down, believed it himself.
Lara built a plan from a blueprint that Sergio Martinez had drawn up, and now anyone can follow it. Williams drops his right hand, leaves himself open to lefts and, at age 30, can seemingly do nothing to stop it. Williams is loyal and, unlike his right hand, won't drop George Peterson. He should, if he wants to continue. Some coaches can take their charges only so far.
If a third fight with Martinez gets made, then Williams needs to ask himself if the purse is worth the damage he would take in a fight in which he would be a heavy underdog. Some things you can't put a price on. So why not just call it a day?
Williams can look back on his career with a great degree of pride. He routed Winky Wright and outlasted Antonio Margarito. He defeated Martinez in their first dazzling encounter. But if a damaged Williams chooses to continue taking fights, there may come a day when he won't be able to remember those highs at all. Perhaps it's time for "The Punisher" to stop punishing himself.
Originally posted by ESPN/Brian Campbell
It wasn't so much what Paul Williams did -- or didn't do -- in his controversial win over Erislandy Lara that was most concerning. It was what he said that raised the biggest flag.
In separate interviews with HBO's Max Kellerman before and after the bout, Williams' summation was that no adjustments were necessary. "I'm a fighter 'til the end," he said. "With me, what you see is what you get."
That single-minded mentality has the oft-avoided former pound-for-pound phenom on his way out of the sport at 30 years old.
But does it have to be that way?
The rail-thin Williams -- a freak of nature at nearly 6-foot-2, with the wingspan of a heavyweight -- has too many physical gifts to be talking retirement now.
Although it's true he has seems to have lost a step due to age and mileage, Williams is far from physically shot in his reaction time or speech -- the way a 28-year-old Rid**** Bowe was, for example.
Williams' biggest issue appears to be overcoming his own stubborn self.
Too comfortable with his enabling trainer George Peterson, Williams has a one-dimensional style of relentless pressure that not only fails to accentuate his natural strengths, it places him unnecessarily in harm's way.
If willingly giving away his height and reach advantages weren't enough, Williams has naively focused too much on punch volume and not enough on his eroding technique.
Simply put, he has grown ignorant of his own need to evolve.
It's not often that a fighter this committed to action fighting comes under fire. But Williams has too many physical advantages to neglect defense and rely so heavily on his well-respected chin to bail him out.
Williams may "still fight like he's broke," as Kellerman noted before the Lara fight. But after watching him eat flush left hands for 12 rounds, it's obvious he shouldn't have to.
Watching someone with limitless potential settle for anything less than finding out just how good he can be is the hardest thing to swallow. Based on Williams' most recent performances -- including a devastating KO loss to Sergio Martinez -- even his most ardent supporters are running out of ways to defend him.
But consider me someone who still believes.
Upgrading to an elite trainer would be a great start, as would developing a career-extending jab. An upright, defensive posture and commitment to defense wouldn't hurt, either.
Too late to teach an old dog new tricks? Only Williams can decide that.
He can continue to pursue a third fight with Martinez and walk right into the fire with guns blazing before retiring for good. Or he can take a hard look in the mirror and decide that now is the time for change.
In separate interviews with HBO's Max Kellerman before and after the bout, Williams' summation was that no adjustments were necessary. "I'm a fighter 'til the end," he said. "With me, what you see is what you get."
That single-minded mentality has the oft-avoided former pound-for-pound phenom on his way out of the sport at 30 years old.
But does it have to be that way?
The rail-thin Williams -- a freak of nature at nearly 6-foot-2, with the wingspan of a heavyweight -- has too many physical gifts to be talking retirement now.
Although it's true he has seems to have lost a step due to age and mileage, Williams is far from physically shot in his reaction time or speech -- the way a 28-year-old Rid**** Bowe was, for example.
Williams' biggest issue appears to be overcoming his own stubborn self.
Too comfortable with his enabling trainer George Peterson, Williams has a one-dimensional style of relentless pressure that not only fails to accentuate his natural strengths, it places him unnecessarily in harm's way.
If willingly giving away his height and reach advantages weren't enough, Williams has naively focused too much on punch volume and not enough on his eroding technique.
Simply put, he has grown ignorant of his own need to evolve.
It's not often that a fighter this committed to action fighting comes under fire. But Williams has too many physical advantages to neglect defense and rely so heavily on his well-respected chin to bail him out.
Williams may "still fight like he's broke," as Kellerman noted before the Lara fight. But after watching him eat flush left hands for 12 rounds, it's obvious he shouldn't have to.
Watching someone with limitless potential settle for anything less than finding out just how good he can be is the hardest thing to swallow. Based on Williams' most recent performances -- including a devastating KO loss to Sergio Martinez -- even his most ardent supporters are running out of ways to defend him.
But consider me someone who still believes.
Upgrading to an elite trainer would be a great start, as would developing a career-extending jab. An upright, defensive posture and commitment to defense wouldn't hurt, either.
Too late to teach an old dog new tricks? Only Williams can decide that.
He can continue to pursue a third fight with Martinez and walk right into the fire with guns blazing before retiring for good. Or he can take a hard look in the mirror and decide that now is the time for change.
Also...please keep trolling to a minimum. I know ya'll can do it
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