Here's my view of the fight between Antonio Margarito and Paul Williams for Margarito's WBO welterweight championship belt from the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on July 14, 2007.

The fight was very close but I had Margarito the winner!  Williams threw a lot more, landed more, some sharp punches, but also a lot of pitty pats.  He never hurt Margarito though Margarito rocked him several times.  He also got away with plenty of holding.   The fight could've gone either way depending on  how you judge boxing.  Williams showed class and heart and plenty of healthy energy.  Margarito showed determination but made the fight closer than it should've been AND POSSIBLY BLOWING THE FIGHT by throwing away early rounds due to inactivity.  I'm a Margarito fan, to get that out of the way, and now losing to Williams, and not looking good against Clotty maybe means that he is slowing down.  Too bad, he should've made the big money over the past couple of years but didn't.  But all is not lost.  Fighters come back from losses--look at Mosely (2 to Forrest, 2 to Winky Wright), look at De La Hoya (twice to Mosely, Ko'd by Hopkins, losing to Mayweather, and of course Kermit Cintron (KO'd by Margarito) who seems to have turned  his career around.  I see lots of interesting fights in the welterweight class and interesting fights and controversial decisions are the spice of  boxing.


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1.  Williams enters ring looking confident.
2.  Happy to be here.
3.  Margarito prepares for battle.

4.  They look close together but that long lean
body is hard to reach.
5.  Williams is punching first in the early going.
6.  Keeping Margarito at bay.  I would say their true heights is W at 6'2" and M at 5'10".

7.  Throwing enough to make Margarito cover up.
8.  Like Margarito said after the fight, I blocked most of  his punches.
9.  I put this in to prove a point--locking Margarito up on the inside.

10.  Same pattern early on.
11.  Looking for opening.
12.  Adjusting to a tall lean lefty.

13.  Holding head and arms.
14.  Trying to find each other.
15.  Missing over the top.

16.  Tall slick leftys--poison with gloves.
17.  Trying to launch at that head way up there.
18.  Plenty of punches coming.

19.  Making Margarito cover up.
20.  Same pattern.
21.  Getting closer.

22.  But even in close Williams threw punches.
23.  Notice open glove on Williams.  Just keeping the glove in Margarito's face.
24.  Margarito can't get loose.

25.  Distance is closing.
26.  Punching, punching.
27.  Moving your hands, that's what they tell you and Williams is doing it.

28.  Close together.
29.  Missing with uppercut.
30.  Landing heavy right.

31.  As much a push as a punch..
32.  Heads bang together.
33.  Exchanging punches.

34.  Margarito got him with the right but Williams didn't fall apart.
35.  Still got his wits  about him.
36.  Both men looked a little peaked.

37.  Williams lands a stiff one.
38.  The new champ.
39.  I got the belt!