| 18 February 2012
Nobuhiro Ishida may be a little wary for the main event of tonight's edition of Showtime Championship Boxing after seeing Gabriel Campillo get the shaft from the American judges in the co-feature. Despite that, he'll look to continue the recent misery of former top 10 pound-for-pound boxer Paul Williams, who really needs a win here to get his career back on track.
Jimmy Lennon Jr. asks the fans on hand in Corpus Christi to rise and observe a memorial 10-count for the late Angelo Dundee. Very nice, and the crowd applauds appropriately.
Ishida comes out first, making just his second appearance in a U.S. ring. He shot to prominence with his stunning first-round stoppage of James Kirkland last April, and he's won once since then to take his pro record to 24-6-2.
Williams makes his ring walk with a focused look in his eyes. The lanky lefty is 40-2 with 27 KOs but has seen his reputation take a hit over the past three years with a big KO loss to Sergio Martinez and several questionable decision victories.
All three judges for this one are from Texas. Jon Schorle is the referee in charge of the action. Lennon introduces both fighters and we are ready for a scheduled 12 rounds of boxing in the super welterweight division.
Round 1
Ishida throws some big right hands trying to time Williams lunging in. Williams lands a left in the corner. Ishida looks more comfortable as the counter-puncher. Williams literally hops forward to land a left to the head and a right to the body. Ishida tries a flurry but gets tied up. He lands a counter right and manages to escape trouble in the corner again.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 2
Ishida is patient, waiting for a chance to open up with counters. Williams forces him back into the corner but gets cautioned for something by the ref. Williams' trunks also look like they are going to fall down. Ishida just misses a right hand before taking several punches. Now both men find the target on the inside, and Schorle gets a mock cheer for having Williams pull his shorts up. Paul connects with a left to the body, and both men mug each other on the inside.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 3
Williams starts out quickly, and Ishida goes down, though it didn;t happen because of a punch and is ruled a slip. Williams continues to out-work his opponent, keeping his hands moving as they lean on each other. Ishida jabs his way in and lands, but Williams forces him back with a straight left hand. Jabs and body shots land for Williams, but Ishida fires back with a one-two counter combo. A left hook smacks Williams and may have stunned him a tad. Williams scores with a right hook at the bell.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 4
Williams steps up his pace even more, but Ishida stands in and lands a nasty hook. Another left hook scores, and that probably got Williams' attention. Ishida waits for counter opportunities again, and both men end up holding and hitting in the corner. Ishida lands a counter right and ducks into a clinch. Williams crahses home a right hook and a straight left.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Ishida
Round 5
Every round is beginning with Williams throwing, but he has more success actually landing flush in the first 30 seconds of this one. Ishida stand his ground in the face of some big right hooks. Both men land solid left hooks. Williams digs in and rips shots with both hands. Ishida sticks out his tongue, but he's getting out-worked in this frame for sure. Ishida barely avoids a vicious left hand in the closing seconds.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 6
Both men seem content to trade, but Ishida is taking the worst of it on the inside. Williams is very good at doing very subtle holding at close range while still working with his other hand. He's also mixing up head and body punches very effectively. Paul shoe shines after Ishida pushes him into the ropes. Pretty good action down the stretch.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 7
Williams stalks and goes to work with the jab. Fireworks erupt as Williams lets hooks fly with both hands and Ishida tries to respond in kind. Showtime has Williams throwing and landing about twice as many punches as Ishida to this point. Ishida is still game, attempting to land his own hooks and uppercuts when they get in close. He charges forward to land a right hand.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 8
Williams comes right off the stool and goes crazy with a two-fisted flurry. Not many punches landed flush, but it looked good. Ishida eats another right but lands two punches of his own before they wrestle. They stand and trade, allowing Ishida to connect with two nice right hands. These guys have pretty miraculously avoided clashing heads despite leaping into each other often. Williams uses the double jab to set up his left. Ishida lands a counter right, yet he's still being swarmed by sheer volume.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 9
Ishida tries some more sticking and moving. They stand and feint, and both men walk into a punch or two. Ishida throws the uppercut but can't connect cleanly. Williams hops in for a body shot, and the ref is forced to break up multiple clinches. Double jab and a left hand by Williams. Ishida doesn't have much to offer but the hope of a home run counter right. Ishida takes right hooks to the body and head. A right hook staggers Ishida right before the bell.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 10
Showtime has it a shutout for Williams, and the announcers are discussing whether he needs a KO to really be considered a top boxer again. Lennon has tweeted that people sometimes underestimate how difficult it is to come back from a devastating knockout, and he thinks Williams is doing fine. Ishida gets full marks for his toughness as he is still in there battling. He goes very low on a body shot. Williams sticks in multiple jabs, then attacks the body while backed against the ropes. More volume punching from The Punisher to close things out.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 11
Williams finds his high gear once again, blazing away to the head and torso. Ishida walks forward, but he's taking two to land one way too often. Williams lands a four-punch combination before Ishida answers. he does land a right hand in the middle of an exchange, he just doesn't have the game-changing power he'd need to answer Williams' constant punching. Both men swing away for almost the entire last 20 seconds.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Round 12
Ishida was a little slow getting off his stool, and he's rudely greeted by a barrage of punches. Ishida is landing some counter rights amidst the storm, but again, it's not enough to reverse the momentum of this bout. A left hand snaps Ishida's head along the ropes. He's taking some shots but still holding up well. More shoe shining and flurrying with no serious damage. Ishida uses two left hands to temporarily slow down his opponent. Williams lands a pair of two-punch combos to close the show, and he should win a wide decision ont he cards.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Williams
Tylwalk: 119-109 Williams
All three judges score the bout 120-108 for the winner, Paul "The Punisher" Williams.
