ATLANTIC CITY—Paul Williams had hoped to make a triumphant return to the ring and prove he had fully recovered from the devastating knockout he suffered against Sergio Martinez last November. Instead, Williams was very lucky to escape with a majority decision over Erislandy Lara Saturday night at the Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall.
By the time their 12-round brawl was over, Williams was a bloody mess with a swollen face and cuts over both eyes. And though Lara appeared to land the heavier more damaging blows, the judges gave Williams a majority decision. One judge had it 114-114, while the two other judges scored it for Williams, 115-114 and 116-114. The Post scored the fight 115-113 for Lara (15-1, 10 KOs).
Williams (40-2, 27 KOs) hadn’t fought since the devastating second-round knockout he suffered to Martinez. The three-time world champion looked sluggish early, missing with most of punches and never landing any damaging blows.
More troubling, he was repeatedly hit with the same over-hand left from the southpaw Lara that Martinez dropped him with last November. Williams tried to stay busy, throwing punches when he could. But Lara, who had swelling on the left side of his head, landed the heavier blows. When the final bell sounded, Lara thought he’d won. But the judges gave the nod to Williams, a decision that was booed by much of the crowd.
“I don’t know what the judges saw,” said Lara, a Cuban defector who lives in Miami.
Williams said he thought he’d won the fight though Lara (landed more punches (224 to 200), jabs (46-39) and power punches (178 to 161).
“He caught me with some pot shots,” Williams said. “But I kept throwing combinations to his body. A lot of people didn’t see those punches and combinations. They were adding up. Bottom line is I out-worked him.”
Williams said he was “lazy” at times, but never really hurt. “His pot shots didn’t hurt me,” he said. “I’m looking forward to bigger and better things. When you fight a guy at his level you’re not going to rise. I got a little lazy letting him get his pot-shots in because I didn’t feel he was any real danger.”
In the co-main event, Rico Ramos of Los Angeles won the WBA super bantamweight title with a stunning seventh-round knockout over Akifumi Shimoda of Japan. Shimoda (23-3-1, 10 KOs) was trying to become the first Japanese boxer to successfully defend his title in the U.S. and had dominated the fight over the first six rounds, leading 60-54 on one scorecard and 59-55 on two others. His constant pressure and awkward southpaw style kept Ramos on the defensive. But in the seventh, Ramos finally made a stand, fired back with a combination that ended with a hard left hook that landed flush on Shimoda’s temple. He crashed to the canvas and couldn’t get fully back on his feet before being counted out.
“I was behind on the cards,” said Ramos (20-0, 11 KOs). “But after the fifth round I got my energy back. He was frustrating me and I knew I couldn’t let that happen. I wasn’t looking for a knockout. I just knew I had to move forward and carry the fight. I was throwing right hands to his body and then I surprised him with the left. I’ve waited for this for 16 years. I’ve worked hard and I’m happy with my victory.”
Meanwhile, Cris Arreola of Riverside, Calif., kept himself in the discussion for a possible title shot against Wladimir Klitschko with an easy 10-round decision over Friday Ahunanya of Las Vegas. Arreola (33-2, 28 KOs) staggered Ahunanya (24-8-3, 13 KOs) several times during the fight and won easily on the scorecards, 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91. Though Ahunanya had not been stopped in seven years, Aareola was disappointed in his performance. “I thought I looked horrible,” he said. “I couldn’t pull the trigger. No offense, he has a solid chin with good combinations. But it shouldn’t have lasted. “