Margarito vs. Williams: “This fight will not go to decision”
 By Gabriel Montoya (July 13, 2007) Doghouse Boxing
On a perfect Southern California afternoon, with the Pacific Ocean breeze gently blowing over the assembled media and the crowd of curious onlookers, Paul Williams waited patiently for a stuck-in-traffic Antonio Margarito. During the hour-long wait, promoter Dan Goossen made the most of the time by bringing up HBO commentator Larry Merchant who started off the proceeding in typical Merchant fashion. “After all the hard work Margarito has put in to get to this point. To get to an opportunity to show he is a great fighter, he’s a no show?” said Merchant in his inimitable half kidding, half ‘are you kidding me’ way.
The crowd was loose and friendly as was Williams and Merchant who humored Goossen and the crowd with “something that has never been done”, in Goossen’s words. They both stood up in front of everyone at Goossen’s insistence and gave us the classic fighters final press conference standoff. Williams towered over Larry who immediately went to Williams’s body instead of simply posing. “I’d play your ribs like a xylophone,“ said Merchant, to Williams’ and the crowd’s delight. Larry and Williams exchanged a few blows until Larry got in a good one and drew an ‘oooh‘ from the crowd. “Maybe if we had Miguel Cotto, you’d tower over him,” said Goossen. To which Larry, who is shorter than I thought he’d be, replied,”I tower over no one.”
Next up was Andre Ward who was humble, brief and very succinct in his choice of words. “The main event speaks for itself. I am honored and privileged to be part of this card. I am going to do my part and put on a show.” Ward, 12-0 (7), faces off against Francisco Diaz, 16-1(8). “My opponent is tough as nails. It is a step up in competition. I look forward to it.” Ward who seemed to have been rushed a bit by the HBO machinery straight out the Olympics now seems to have been matured by the pro game. “My career is going just fine. This is not an overnight type of thing. You have to climb to the top. I believe every fight is a step up in competition. There is no rush.
“The main thing that I have learned as a pro is that I have more time. I have eight rounds to do what I have to do. Settling down is the main thing that I have learned so far.”
Ward gave credit to his life for her support but spoke of the hardships that come with that as well. “To have the support of my wife, Tiffany, means everything to me. Family is a good distraction, but it is a distraction. We are growing together. I go away to train for every fight. Leaving my family is never easy to do, but I have to do it.”
One of the question marks that surround Ward is his early career penchant for getting hurt and for a knockdown that occurred. Ward views that not as a sign of weakness but of the maturation process. “In my sixth fight, I got knocked down. By the grace of God, I got up and showed the mark of a champion. When you have adversity and tribulation, you show what you have on the inside. If I have to get in a war, I have what it takes on the inside. It was a blessing to get knocked down. God taught me a lesson in that fight. He allowed that to happen, but he picked me up. My faith
grew leaps and bounds in that fight. It has made me grow as a man and a fighter.”
Finally, after an hour of working on my tan (wearing all black on the regular has its’ drawbacks) Margarito arrived, entourage in tow. “First off Antonio, can we see the speeding ticket,” joked Goossen who all around was in rare form. Margarito grinned sheepishly and his co-manager, Sergio Diaz, apologized.
Now it was time to hear from the main event fighters and I for one was hoping it was worth the wait but also hoping we wouldn’t get a replay of the Vargas-Mayorga presser/preview of what is to come we got the day before. Showing the class of champion and top contender, Margarito and Williams, gave good sound bite but refrained from beating on each other.
“The time is here for me to continue keeping my title,” Margarito would say through his interpreter/co-manager Diaz. “I know that Williams is a great fighter who throws a lot of punches. I am hoping that Williams throws a lot of punches because it is going to be a great fight.” When asked how he saw the fight playing out, Margarito smiled and said, “I am not looking to go the distance. This fight will not go to decision. I will finish it in the seventh round.”
When asked the same question, the soft spoken Williams replied with a grin, “Well, I guess I’m going to have to knock him out in the seventh.”
Margarito stated the importance the bout had to his legacy and to his future as well. “This fight is very important because it is the key to my future. It is the key to unification fights.” Regarding Williams, Margarito said simply, “I don’t know if Williams has the stamina to stay in there with me. He does not have the experience. I have fought many fighters with more experience than Williams has.”
Margarito, a Tijuana native, seemed very relaxed and happy to be returning to L.A., his adopted home, for the biggest fight of his career. “I feel very happy to be fighting at home. I train here, but I haven’t fought here in a couple of years. I have to continue to defend my belt so I can fight in front of my fans. I prepare myself in the gym and had the right sparring. I could not have asked for better preparation for this fight.”
When it came Williams’ time to talk he quickly addressed erroneous reports that he had been sick or injured during his training camp in Puerto Rico. “I am ready to get it on. My confidence is sky high. I am not taking Margarito lightly. I have been hearing some kind of crazy stuff on the Internet, like I am sick and I can’t make weight. On July 14, you are going to see something that you have never seen before in the ring. People are trying to start stuff on the websites. People said I was in the hospital in Puerto Rico. I sent two sparring partners to the hospital,” he said with a smile.
“On July 13, they will see how ‘sick’ I am when I get on the scale. On July 14 when I get in the ring, I will prove I am ready.” Williams was not all braggadocio however as he showed Margarito the respect a long reigning champion deserves but at the same time showed his own humble confidence. “I have a lot of love and respect for Margarito as a champion, but this is my time to shine. Margarito is the champion and the man, but this is my time to beat the man and become the champion.”
And with that, the two men squared off for the customary stare-down to the delight of all. Two class acts. Two warriors, whose styles and mentalities couldn’t be better matched, stare at each other. Any way you look at this match up, whether you like Margarito by KO or Williams by decision in a classic (my personal pick), this fight has barnburner written all over it. Just like the fighters themselves, I personally can’t wait for Saturday night.
Afterwards, I caught up with Larry Merchant as he was strolling away from the post presser luncheon and into the street. I had the wonderful experience of walking a good 3 blocks with Larry talking boxing in general and breaking down the fight together. Ultimately, Larry said this of Saturday night’s main event: ”I always go into a fight hoping we get a bout that we want to see again. Hopefully we get that with this one.“
I couldn’t agree more.
|
