Boxing Showdown! Paul Williams (USA) vs Antonio Margarito (MEXICO) | Fight Highlights

Please welcome the undefeated challenger, Paul, the Punisher, William! Please welcome the WBO welterweight champion of the world, introducing... Trunks, Williams in the green trunks, and if it means anything... And you'll see that righty lefty matchup now, and what Margarito will try to do is throw a right hand lead against the left hand style. Try to get the right hand in, double left hook, keep his lead foot, and then try to operate from there. Williams with that long jab. His defense is very suspect. Margarito got through early already, and spotty defense will catch up to you in high level fights. He can be very inconsistent, and Margarito trying to get inside those long arms. If he's in trouble, he can be very much inspired, and he does good body work. Margarito has gotten inside and landed a couple nice shots on the chin. Combination from Williams. In his last fight with Joshua Clouty, he got off to a very bad start. Williams moving around. Ten seconds to go in round one. Margarito said that he would jab more early on, and Williams I think has him in the speed department. Williams is pretty quick. Unloads a combo, and that long jab. And he's following Williams around here. Williams is smart. He's moving to his right. He's trying to stay away from the power hand. And he's making Margarito reach. Margarito can punch. And now combo from Williams. To utilize the reach and make Margarito lunge at him, which he's doing. He's almost toying with him here as far as tying him up. The question is now, if Williams maintains that style, he'll be okay. There's a right hand from Margarito. Williams did not maintain that style. Margarito will eventually make you pay if your defense is a little bit loose. Antonio Margarito. He's a slow starter. Comes on strong as the rounds go by. But he'll keep coming straight ahead. Williams will keep moving. Right hand from Williams. Williams has been effective on the outside, despite the few shots he got from Margarito. But that will be his M.O. Good one-two from Williams. When he uses that jab effectively, Dave, and follows it up, it's going to be tough for Margarito to get inside. He'll make Margarito a gambler. Round three, scheduled for twelve. And at stake is Margarito's welterweight championship. And he's been on the end of some long, straight jabs occasionally. There's a left hand from... And Margarito is trying to force this on the inside, and then punch as much as possible in there. And Williams is even succeeding at taking that away sometimes, when you have that reach. You can hit and not be hit. You can punch, backing up, and still score. He needs to rough him up. And the exchange here of round three. Williams wants to keep his distance. He wants to keep his range. Margarito, the slow starter, picking up some speed here in round three. It's been said that Margarito's skill level has dropped in recent years. But he still punches well. And you know, the story emerges here that the referee will be a very important part of this fight on the inside. How much will he let them punch before he breaks it up? Williams having fun at the end of this round here. Well, if he keeps that distance, he'll score. That's the end of round three. Scheduled for 12. Paul Williams in the green trunks. Antonio Margarito, the champion in the black trunks. And most of the time, Williams has moved around, used his long jab. You can make the fight a lot easier for yourself. Many fighters don't do that. They get caught up into something else. You can really make it a good ride. Well, it's very possible, Dave, that Williams may get a little bit overconfident and want to mix it up more. If that happens, it's a progression. And it naturally extends that you'll get bolder. And then when you get bolder, you roll the dice. Margarito trying to charge inside. And he gets countered. Good work by Williams on the inside as Margarito was coming to him. Williams fighting with confidence now. Jab, left. Williams with a southpaw jab. Margarito trying to charge inside. Williams scoring. Scoring with a jab. Round five underway. Paul Williams moving around, using the ring, using that long jab. The one-two punch. Trying to go to Williams' midsection. Williams so far has been keeping him outside. And you get to see why Williams is so tough. Standing on the outside, elusive. Moving a little bit. Making Margarito work just that little bit more. Williams comes in with a shot to the body. And then a good straight shot through the head. Notice that since those uppercuts we looked at last round... Dave, do you think the... It's probably a minor factor at this point. Williams' southpaw stance. It really is. He hasn't forced that many lefties as he gets a right hand through there. But this is also a lefty who has enough power it's not as easy to jab your way home. You're doing everything from the other side. And when the lefty moves, now you have to move in an opposite direction. Well, so far in this fight, Paul Williams, who they said has not fought quality opponents over the years, is doing a pretty good job so far tonight. And when Margarito does come inside, he counters him. Well, that's no knockdown. That's a slip. And he's boxing effectively tonight. And that's it. Five rounds of boxing. Had that look on his face like he was defending a title, not going after one. And he's fought that way. He looks very confident. Sixth round now, scheduled for 12. Jabbing away at Margarito. How do you have the fight, Dave? I've got a three-point advantage here. Four rounds to one in favor of Williams. Giving him the benefit of the boxing. He's off to a very good start. He's hitting nicely now. Well, we're seeing Margarito try to do something he'll need to, which is get inside and work the body. If a guy moves a lot on you, he's trying to invest in this round. Margarito just landed a short, chopping left uppercut that seemed to stun Williams for the moment. And he's got the power. But Margarito needs this fight to be in a telephone booth. He's getting inside. Williams is moving more in a straight line in this round. Margarito has been more effective in this round as a result of that. When you mention the fact that Margarito might have a shot at Cotto in Atlantic City. Right. That's in jeopardy right now. And, you know, we always talk about you have to get by the fight in front of you first. And this has all the makings. 15 seconds remaining in round six. Oh, Williams very confident with that jab and that left. Bing, bing. Well, so far the numbers are not kind. Almost a 2 to 1 ratio through six rounds. And that's a guaranteed loss unless you can turn that around. Credit Williams for being on his bicycle and then moving on angles. Even though Margarito is taking some of that away. Really cheered because they thought Margarito had nailed him. But he blocked it. This is a pro Margarito crowd. And look at Williams again. Showing the angles. Trying to make it difficult for Margarito. More time will run out on him. He's taking more chances now. In the past when Margarito has been in a lot of trouble he has come on strong. See if he can do it here against the long reach of Paul Williams. Now Williams has another option to get him with an uppercut on the way in. He knows that Margarito is going to bore in like a bull. Margarito starting to land some effective punches here. There's a right hand from Margarito. Misses the left. Williams trying to counter. But Williams is there for him this round. Look where they're fighting. In a straight line. That's Margarito territory. He said it earlier. Williams has to be careful he doesn't get drawn in to a toe-to-toe battle. That as the fight has waged on the inside the last two rounds the crowd has come alive. Because Margarito has done well in rounds 6 and 7. As we end round 7. Williams has been the one obvious in the grabbing of Margarito as Margarito comes in. What he should do is throw an uppercut instead of holding. Round 8. Scheduled at 12. Antonio Margarito with the black trunks. Paul Williams in the green trunks. When you work a guy's body the way Margarito has tried to in the last couple of rounds you may take away a guy's legs. And the last two rounds have been a comeback time for Margarito. Even the power punches. He's down 116 to 81. But that is tightening up from before. So right now this is... Dave, do you think we're seeing a little bit of subtle wear and tear on Williams? Yeah. Because he's fighting closer to Margarito. There's a right hand. Williams is making a mistake in where he's waging this fight now. To the midsection. He's taking away the movement. And now this is where Margarito can fight. But Margarito is favored on the inside. With Williams moving, he wasn't going to lose. Margarito's doing a good job too of cutting off the ring and trying to cut down the space. And you know, you give a guy momentum, Dick. And you can see how Margarito as he eats that uppercut is coming on straggling. Margarito's still a relatively young guy at 29 years of age. But he hasn't fought all that often in recent years. He needs to use that ring. Well, that's it for Round 8. Well, here we go. Round 9. And Margarito coming on in the last two rounds like he always does in fights. He comes on strong. Stay in front of this guy when he fights on the inside. That's Margarito, Phil. Well, the thing is difficult to understand is he did so well with the long jab setting up the left hand, moving, hitting at angles. The last couple of rounds he stopped it. He started going toe-to-toe with a guy who... With Margarito. He got into Margarito's fight. And Margarito was grateful. He stepped it up. I think possibly Williams might be fading a little bit. There's some of that. And part of it is fought fairly well in Margarito's office. So after he was doing well, maybe he tried to take the heart of Margarito away by beating him at his own game. But it backfired. Because Margarito is right here now. There is that factor to consider. It really is. But this is a guy his corner telling him get on the bicycle, use the angles. But there is a certain pacing element that you need in these fights. And in the middle rounds, Williams did not do well there. Williams seemed to sprint out ahead at the beginning of the fight and now has gotten careless. Not as effective. And Margarito... This is really going to be quite interesting now. You've got what should be a close fight. Margarito rallying into the mix. It all depends on how the legs are now. When you spent the last four rounds on the inside, you've given away some of the bounce in those legs. And that's what makes this all so fun and exciting. Margarito coming on, going to the body. The thing I don't understand is between the rounds, you're holding Williams' arms up high over his head. Williams doing a pretty good job on the inside in this round even if he is in Margarito's territory. But see how he dips the shoulder when he punches. Margarito can come right over the top unless he's too tired. Couple rounds earlier were close. And yet in Williams' corner, they told him he was two rounds away from being a champion of the world. A West Coast fighter. And if it's a close fight, if it's really close, it'll go to Margarito. On close rounds, you get the nod. Margarito certainly putting on the pressure. He's coming on now. He is putting the pressure on Williams and he rocks him. Although Williams a percentage is Margarito, and we've seen those type of logistics end in many split decisions. And this 11th round is going to be a key round for Margarito. You know, Williams showing good conditioning, throwing more than twice as many punches as Margarito. And that factor alone. The question is how many did he give away early? When did the judges believe he made his run? Walks right in, Williams' front door. Margarito pours it on. The right hand. Catches him with a left. With Williams. Now Williams is moving with that before he moved. It was really wearing him down. What a time to come out. Trying to establish some range. I think Margarito got a little tired at the end of this round. Final seconds of round 11. There's a right hand. Well, here we go. The 12th and final round. Paul Williams in the fight. Coming on strong from about what? The 7th round on. Maybe round 6. And here's the key thing. He can land one punch more for 5 straight rounds and still get 5 rounds in the books if that's the right way to fight. Margarito has done a very good job since round 6. Now Williams is doing okay so far in round 12. He's going back for the jab. He's kept his distance. Back for the jab. Keeping range. Getting Margarito off balance. To Williams about the holding. Margarito has been a more effective fighter on the inside than Williams. And Margarito might win this round. Got a minute to go. Moving around. Jabbing. On fumes now. Some uppercuts here by Williams. At certain points. And he's looked that way at times tonight. Looking like that now. He unloads. 10 seconds! 1-2 from Williams. Closing seconds. Williams came on in that last round which could make the final decision very interesting. All three in favor of the winner and the new Big thing that last round.