On This Day In Boxing History!

Benny Leonard vs Lew Tendler

July 27th, 1922

World Lightweight Title

Boyle's Thirty Acres, Jersey City, New Jersey   

1981: Paul Williams Was Born!

Paul “The Punisher” Williams was one of the most gifted, feared, and avoided fighters of his generation. A two-time WBO welterweight champion, Williams used his relentless work rate, towering frame, and southpaw stance to become one of boxing’s most unusual and difficult matchups. His career was tragically cut short by a life-altering motorcycle accident in 2012, but he remains remembered as one of the defining American fighters of the 2000s and a symbol of courage and resilience.

Born on July 27, 1981, in Augusta, Georgia, Williams was raised in nearby Aiken, South Carolina, where he first discovered boxing. Unlike many future world champions, Williams did not have a long amateur career, competing in only a modest number of amateur bouts before turning professional in 2000 at age 19. Under trainer George Peterson, with management by Al Haymon and promotion by Goossen Promotions, Williams developed quickly into an elite professional talent whose style was better suited to the paid ranks than the amateur system.

Standing about 6-foot-1 1/2 with a 78-inch reach, Williams had extraordinary physical dimensions for a welterweight. Fighting from the southpaw stance, he combined relentless pressure, exceptional conditioning, durability, and one of the highest punch outputs in modern boxing. He routinely threw high-volume combinations and overwhelmed opponents with constant activity rather than depending only on knockout power, although he still finished with 27 knockouts in 41 victories.

Williams steadily climbed the ranks by capturing regional titles and earning mandatory challenger status for the WBO welterweight championship. His breakthrough came on July 14, 2007, when he challenged the heavily favored Antonio Margarito for the title. In one of the best performances of his career, Williams outworked the durable Mexican champion over 12 rounds, threw well over 1,000 punches, and won a unanimous decision to capture his first world title.

His first title defense brought the lone upset of his championship reign, as Carlos Quintana outboxed Williams in February 2008 to take the WBO title and hand Williams the first defeat of his professional career. Williams responded four months later with one of the most emphatic revenge performances in modern boxing, stopping Quintana in the first round to regain the WBO welterweight championship.

Seeking the biggest challenges available, Williams moved between welterweight, junior middleweight, and middleweight in search of elite opposition. In November 2008, he defeated former world champion Verno Phillips by eighth-round technical knockout to win the WBO interim junior middleweight title. He followed that performance with a dominant unanimous decision over former undisputed junior middleweight champion Winky Wright in 2009, further establishing himself as one of boxing’s elite pound-for-pound fighters.

One of the defining rivalries of Williams’ career was with Argentine star Sergio Martínez. Their first meeting in December 2009 produced one of boxing’s most memorable action fights, with both men scoring first-round knockdowns before battling through 12 close rounds. Williams earned a narrow majority decision in a bout widely regarded as one of the year’s best. Their November 2010 rematch ended dramatically when Martínez landed a perfectly timed left hand in the second round, knocking William’s unconscious in one of boxing’s most spectacular finishes. The knockout was named The Ring Magazine’s 2010 Knockout of the Year.

Williams rebounded from that loss by defeating Kermit Cintrón and later faced highly regarded Cuban southpaw Erislandy Lara in July 2011. Although many observers believed Lara had clearly won the fight, Williams was awarded a controversial majority decision. The verdict drew immediate criticism, and the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board subsequently suspended the three judges involved. Williams handled the controversy with humility, acknowledging that he had not delivered one of his best performances.

Throughout his career, Williams earned a reputation as one of the ultimate “boogeymen” of his era. His unusual combination of height, reach, southpaw stance, relentless pressure, elite conditioning, and willingness to fight anyone made him a uniquely difficult stylistic challenge. He was widely considered a dangerous opponent, and his name was often mentioned in discussions of fights that never materialized, reinforcing his image as one of boxing’s most avoided competitors. At his peak, The Ring ranked him among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.

Williams finished his career with a record of 41 wins, 2 losses, and 27 knockouts in 43 fights. His résumé includes victories over Antonio Margarito, Carlos Quintana, Winky Wright, Verno Phillips, Kermit Cintrón, Sharmba Mitchell, Sergio Martínez in their first meeting, and Nobuhiro Ishida, reflecting the quality and variety of opposition he consistently pursued.

Just as Williams appeared poised for another major career chapter, tragedy struck. On May 27, 2012, while riding his motorcycle in Georgia, Williams was involved in a devastating accident that resulted in a severe spinal cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. The accident came while he was still in his early 30s and effectively ended his boxing career.

Rather than allowing adversity to define him, Williams inspired the boxing world through his resilience and positive outlook. He remained connected to the sport, mentored young fighters, appeared at boxing events, and became an example of courage in the face of hardship. In recognition of his perseverance, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored him with the Bill Crawford Award for Courage in 2014, and the WBC also presented him with an honorary belt recognizing both his accomplishments and character.

Today, Paul “The Punisher” Williams is remembered not only for what he accomplished in the ring but also for the dignity he showed outside it. His career embodied many of boxing’s highest ideals: fearlessness, determination, sportsmanship, and a willingness to face the best available opposition. Although his prime was cut short, Williams’ legacy endures as one of the finest and most avoided fighters of his generation.

Paul Williams

Born: July 27th,1981

Birth Place: Augusta, Georgia

Residence: Aiken, South Carolina

Pro-Debut: July 21st 2000

Alias: "The Punisher"

Division: Welterweight

Stance: Southpaw

Height : 6′ 1″  

Reach: 79″  

Bouts: 43

Rounds: 207

Ko’s: 62.79%

Career: 2000-2012

Record: 41-2, 27Ko’s

*** Defeated everyone he came in contest with.

2012, May 27th, Williams was involved in a motorcycle accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

WBO Welterweight Champion

2007 Jul 14 – 2008 Feb 9  

WBO Welterweight Champion

2008 Jun 7 – 2008 Nov 12

July 27th

1918: Jack Dempsey KO1 Fred Fulton

Harry Greb W10 Eddie McGoorty

1921: Johnny Wilson WF7 William Bryan Downey

1922: Benny Leonard ND12 Lew Tendler

1931: Henry Armstrong age 19 debuts KO3 Al Lovino

1937: Henry Armstrong KO4 Benny Bass

1955: Willie Pastrano W10 Chuck Spieser

1961: Rene Jacquot was born in Toul, France

1964: Flash Elorde KO12 Teruo Kosaka

1971: Lehlo Ledwaba Was Born in Soweto, Gauteng, South Africa

1973: Juan Carlos Gomez Was Born in Havana, Cuba

1974: Antonio Cervantes KO2 Victor Ortiz

1979: Jorge Arce Was Born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico

Marlon Starling age 20 debuts TKO3 Tim LaValley

1980: Daniel Ponce de León is born in Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, Mexico

1981: Paul Williams Was Born is born in Augusta, Georgia

1985: Dwight Qawi KO11 Piet Crous

1988: Liam Smith is born in Liverpool, England

Boxer Mike Tyson settles the Cayton suit out of court, reducing Cayton's managerial share from one-third to 20 percent of purses.          

1990: Massimilliano Duran WF11 Carlos DeLeon

1991: Mauro Galvano W12 Ron Essett, Capo d’Orlando

Pernell Whitaker W12 Poli Diaz

Michael Moorer TKO4 Alex Stewart

1992: Manuel Medina KO10 Fabrizio Cappai

Victor Rabanales KO4 Luis Alberto Campo

2002: John Ruiz WDQ10 Kirk Johnson

Byron Mitchell KO4 Julio Cesar Green

Tim Austin KO10 Adan Vargas

Larry Holmes W10 Eric “Butterbean” Esch

2003: Joan Guzmán KO1 Jorge Monsalvo

2006: Silvio Branco W12 Manny Siaca

2009: Jerwin Ancajas age 18 debuts TKO1 Reynaldo Buluan

2013: Juan Francisco Estrada W12 Milan Melindo      

Evgeny Gradovich W12 Mauricio Javier Munoz

Nydia Feliciano W10 Crystal Hoy

Keith Thurman KO10 Diego Gabriel Chaves

Omar Figueroa Jr W12 Nihito Arakawa

2016: Marlon Tapales KO11 Panya Uthok  

2019: Daniela Romina Bermúdez RTD8 Valeria Perez

Gervonta Davis TKO2 Ricardo Núñez

José Ramírez TKO6 Maurice Hooker

2024: Joe Joyce W10 Derek Chisora

Claressa Shields TKO2 Vanessa Joanisse

2025: Xander Zayas W12 Jorge Garcia Perez  

Bruce Carrington W12 Mateus Heita       

Yan Carlos Santana-Guerrero W10 Aaron Alameda    

Rohan Polanco W10 Quinton Randall    

Steven Navarro W8 Cristopher Rios                   

Emiliano Vargas KO1 Alexander Espinoza