Undefeated WBO welterweight champ Paul Williams (33-0, 24 Kos) makes the first defense of his belt Saturday night against Carlos Quintana (24-1, 19 KOs) in a scheduled 12-rounder on HBO from the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.
Williams impressively took the belt from Antonio Margarito in July 2007; Quintana's only defeat came at the hands of Miguel Cotto - but it was a lopsided one.
Williams has a 5-inch height and 10-inch reach advantage over Quintana, the WBO's 10th-rated contender, and is the big betting favorite.
Don't tell that to "El Indio".
"I was not born to lose. I want to be champion," Quintana said. "This is my opportunity to claim the title. It is not going to be easy because Williams is always in excellent condition and one must prepare to fight him for 12 rounds. But, I am training with left-handed fighters who throw a lot of punches and I will be ready for him."
"Williams is left-handed and that in itself is difficult. He throws a lot of punches, which complicates things even more. But, he is not Superman, and I am not afraid. I do well against bigger fighters."
Williams is only fighting the little-known Quintana because other star fighters won't take him on – so says promoter Dan Goossen.Goossen said he tried to get Williams a fight with former champions Zab Judah and Luis Collazo, with no luck.
"I really do believe that the fighters - the champions - are afraid to get into the ring with Williams," Goosen said, listing the fact Williams is a southpaw, has a height of 6-foot-2 and heavyweight-type reach of 82 inches as deterrents to other welterweights.
"So you throw all of those ingredients in there, it's not a matter of avoiding, they're afraid to get in the ring with a guy like this," Goossen said.
Williams, known as "the Punisher", just wants to get in the ring for the first time in seven months.
"This is an opportunity for me to get back in the ring and showcase my skills. Of course my motivation level stays the same because this is a big fight for me," said Williams, who originally was to fight IBF champ Kermit Cintron, who pulled out with an injury. "I look at any fight as a big opportunity fight for me, so I just have to stay focused."
If Williams wins, as expected, it could set up a Cotto fight down the line, with the winner of that bout facing the winner of the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather rematch.
"I'm going to overwhelm Quintana. I'm going to make sure he doesn't get off on me," said Williams. "If the fight goes 12 rounds, then I'm going to be throwing punches for the whole 12 rounds."
ELSEWHERE: Former heavyweight champion Tommy "The Duke" Morrison (47-3-1, 41 KOs) has been added to Saturday's card in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, that will feature Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. against Jose Celaya in the junior middleweight main event.
Morrison, 39, will take on Matt Weishaar (3-0-2, 2 KOs) in a four-round preliminary fight.
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