Al Bello - Getty Images
Paul Williams will look to get his career back on track with his February 18 fight against Nobuhiro Ishida. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
A double-header is officially set for the AmericanBank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, for February 18 on Showtime. In the main event, Paul Williams will return to the ring against Nobuhiro Ishida in a fight HBO turned down almost a year ago, and Tavoris Cloud will defend his IBF light heavyweight title against Gabriel Campillo in a fight Showtime turned down a few weeks ago. Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reports that it's all fully finalized and ready to go.
I've said before that I am not interested in the Williams vs Ishida fight at all, and that hasn't changed. I don't think Ishida is actually very good (he's alright) and I just don't think this fight is all that interesting.
This is a get-well fight for Williams (40-2, 27 KO) who is coming off of a bad second round knockout loss to Sergio Martinez, and an ugly robbery win over Erislandy Lara last July. There was talk that Showtime would double Williams and Lara on a January 21 card in order to set up a rematch, but there doesn't appear to be a lot of interest from the Williams side in making that rematch a reality, so Lara is fighting Ronald Hearns in another lousy fight on February 11 (the Ortiz vs Berto II undercard), and Williams is just moving over to Showtime for this fight anyway the next week.
As for Cloud vs Campillo, that's a really good fight, and is in no way going to be a gimme for Cloud, who is aggressive and generally fun to watch, but is being matched with a crafty guy who could, on paper, really trouble him by picking him apart with counters and simply using his ring IQ. Cloud has a lot of holes, and a guy like Campillo should be able to see them.
This was a fight that really should have happened on December 31, when it was offered to Showtime as a replacement for the scrapped Cloud vs Zsolt Erdei fight, but the network turned it down. In reality, it's just that Showtime had no true interest in doing a New Year's Eve boxing card, and they used their first chance to get out of it to, you know, get out of it. They've also rescheduled Rico Ramos vs Guillermo Rigondeaux for January 20 on ShoBox.
All in all, not a card I hate by any means. I don't think much of Williams vs Ishida, but I think Cloud vs Campillo is a very interesting fight that will either truly legitimize Tavoris Cloud, or "expose" him a little bit as a less-than-elite fighter, and I really do believe this is 50-50 on paper.
0 recs | 12 comments
Glad to see Campillo getting a shot after apparently getting robbed against Shumanov. Williams vs. Ishida… meh. Ishida deserves another shot after beating Kirkland, and Williams needs a win against someone who isn’t a complete patsy. It’s not a bad fight, but I hope Showtime isn’t paying much for it.
Verklemptomaniac - January 9, 2012
No “apparently” about it…………..he was robbed. This is a good test for Cloud……….Campillo is definitively a live “dog”.
DPlainview - January 9, 2012
I only say apparently because I didn’t see the fight. Everything I read said it was a bad, bad robbery.
Verklemptomaniac - January 9, 2012
It was about on par with Williams vs Lara, IMO.
Scott Christ - January 9, 2012
I think Showtime is going to be the new hbo with regards to haymon fights
I see showtime right now buying haymon fights that HBO (under fearless new leadership) would pass on. This Williams fight, they also bought ortiz-berto (although, thats a reasonable fight). I’m not convinced in showtimes new leadership.
journeyintosound - January 9, 2012
Ortiz-Berto is more than reasonable, it’s a terrific rematch of a fight that should absolutely be happening that HBO did want, just got outbid for. I understand questioning Haymon/SHO relationship right now — this fight, the Gary Russell vs uninteresting TBA fight that comes on 2/11, etc., but I really am begging people to not put Ortiz-Berto in that category. It’s a great fight.
Scott Christ - January 9, 2012
2/3 fights that are crap…. isn’t a good percentage for Showtime.
Zocalo - January 9, 2012
Edit…
Rico Ramos vs Guillermo Rigondeaux fight is good…. two world class fighters fighting vs each other(a rarity ) but it will be an absolute lock for being an unexciting fight.
Zocalo - January 9, 2012
I had similar concerns, but I’m glad and a little surprised they rescheduled Cloud/Campillo and Rigo/Ramos (agree should be boring). And I don’t even mind Haymon cards (he does have top talent), as long as they’re matched tough, like Broner next.
HamzaWanderaWRSCO - January 9, 2012
This is one of the first fights I can see on its face
And already tell you that someone’s getting robbed. Campillo beats Cloud 10 times out of 10 with fair judging, but he probably gets fair judging 2 times out of 10.
Brickhaus - January 9, 2012
He could get knocked out though. He’s been out once, and even Murat gave him some issues late in the rematch, if I remember right. Cloud is no monster puncher, but he’s got more power and stamina that Murat. He doesn’t have the Wegner defense though, not really hard to find.
HamzaWanderaWRSCO - January 9, 2012
I am going to make the road trip over there to see the fight if it is in Corpus. The American Bank Center is actually a nice venue and literally next to the water.
Zocalo - January 9, 2012
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