Written by Scott Swerbinsky

---

We had a very intriguing fight last night on HBO. Paul "The Punisher", he of the long reach, crazy punch output, and ability to fight in seemingly any weight class ... took on savvy vet Winky Wright, one of the best defensive boxers in recent history. Throwing well over 1,000 punches, Williams took it to Wright, battering him round after round en route to a lopsided unanimous decision. My cousin has been calling Paul The Punisher the best pound for pound fighter in the sport for over a year, and recaps last nights fight for our readers.

I have been saying that Paul Williams is the best fighter pound for pound in the world for over a year now. Last night in a dominating victory over Winky Wright, he did nothing to change my mind.

Williams threw over 1,000 punches through twelve rounds in what was an amazing pace. Winky Wright is one of the best defensive fighters in boxing history and had no way of stopping "The Punisher." Williams cruised to a lopsided victory winning 11 of the 12 rounds on my scorecard.

The long reach of Williams will be hard for anyone to overcome. Mix in the 100 punches a round and he might be damn near unbeatable.  Paul was able to use his jab to perfection and frustrate Wright all fight long. The action was nonstop and to Winky's credit he never stopped fighting.

Early in the fight Wright landed a few solid shots but Williams was able to walk right thru them and keep landing his own power punches. Winky's face was bruised and puffy after a few rounds and the assault never stopped. Jabs and uppercuts were coming from so many different angles, Wright didn't know what to do and the frustration was easy to see.

Neither fighter was ever in great danger or close to being knocked out.  The only question I have about Williams, if he keeps fighting at the higher weight, is his power. It might not be too big of an issue because of his punch output.  Williams' head movement and footwork are great as well as the hand speed. Being that tall and having a wingspan like he does, it will be hard for a lot of fighters to offset.

Winky Wright to me still has a few fights left in him. Nearly off for two years, he stood in with the best boxer in the world. There is no sparring partner that can get you ready for someone like Paul Williams. His defense still looked pretty good and his hand speed was above average.

Paul Williams might have a hard time getting a fight. He has said many times he is willing to fight from 147 all the way up to 168 pounds. A fight with "Sugar" Shane Mosley has been mentioned and makes a lot of sense. I for one would love to see that fight. Williams would have a huge size advantage but Mosley has phenomenal hand speed and might be able to offset that reach.

On the undercard, we saw Chris Arreola just beat up a fat and old Jameel McCline.  The fight finally ended in the fourth round when Arreola landed a perfect two punch combo that made McCline quit.

I still have questions about Arreola's conditioning. He never will win a body building contest but he gets larger every fight. That works against inferior competition but he is in line for some big time fights in the near future. Coming in very soft and at 255 pounds won't be wise if he steps in with top five heavyweights.

Last night we saw two of the better young fighters in the sport. Both are moving on to bigger and better things and I plan to follow them both very closely.