By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
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The better Paul Williams looks, the harder it is for him to find opponents.
Paul Williams a middleweight? A junior middleweight? Welterweight? Who knows? It all depends on which day you catch “The Punisher.”
In his past five fights, Williams has fought in all three divisions — welterweight, then at middleweight, then junior middleweight and then his last two bouts again at middleweight.
He’s has had success in all three divisions. He’s a former two-time welterweight titleholder, a former interim junior middleweight titleholder and, in his most recent fight in December, he beat the guy, Sergio Martinez, who would go on to win the middleweight championship in his following bout.
“I’ve been asked the same questions so many times about fighting in different weight classes, if I feel I am getting slighted, that sort of stuff, that my answers are almost like turning on a recorder and listening to it play, but only with my mouth moving,” Williams said. “But, make no mistake, I don’t mind getting the attention and all the questions. I am confident and comfortable fighting in different weight classes and I will continue to do so for as long as I can and it is feasible.
“Whatever the weight is, my mindset is — and always has been — to fight to the end. I think that is my greatest advantage. I’m satisfied with the way things are going.”
Williams is returning to junior middleweight to tangle with big puncher Kermit Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs), a former welterweight titleholder, in a scheduled 12-rounder Saturday night (HBO, 9:45 ET) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. HBO will open the telecast by replaying last Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley pay-per-view bout.
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