PAUL WILLIAMS SHUTS OUT NOBUHIRO ISHIDA
Tavoris Cloud Wins Controversial Split Decision Over Gabriel Campillo
Cristobal Arreola Stuns Eric Molina with First Round KO
Replay Tomorrow/Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME®
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Feb. 18, 2012) – Paul Williams dominated Nobuhiro Ishida en route to a 12-round unanimous decision shutout (120-108 three times) in the super welterweight main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. The SHOWTIME telecast was kicked off by a fight that left fans irate at the American Bank Center Arena in Corpus Christi, Texas when Tavoris Cloud defended his International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight title via split decision over Gabriel Campillo. The scores were 116-110 and 114-112 for Cloud and 115-111 for Campillo.
Williams (41-2, 27 KOs), of Aiken, S.C., stayed busier than Ishida (24-7-2, 9 KOs), of Osaka, Japan, throughout the entire fight, throwing 934 punches to his opponents 671. The consistent performance brought Williams his first convincing victory since three inauspicious outings in a row. His work rate and volume punching proved too much for Ishida.
“It feels real good,” said Williams. “Ishida is a tough fighter but we put in good work and we’re going to make it back to the top of the game.”
Following the telecast’s co-feature, SHOWTIME analyst Al Bernstein said, “How this fight could be scored 116-110 on a judge’s scorecard is beyond comprehension. It’s one of the most egregious decisions I’ve ever seen.” The crowd echoed this sentiment with a cacophony of boos from the 4,599 in attendance following the announcement of the decision for Cloud over Campillo.
Cloud (24-0, 19 KOs), of Tallahassee, Fla., started impressively with two knockdowns in the first round. He floored Campillo (21-4-1, 8 KOs), of Madrid, Spain, with a right hand and then referee Marc Nelson ruled another knockdown when Campillo used the ropes to stay up following another shot by Cloud.
Unfazed by the 10-7 first round, Campillo regained his composure and began to turn the tide. Cloud suffered a cut above his left eye in the fourth round as Campillo surged. The Spanish fighter was more active and accurate than his opponent, landing 148 power punches compared to Cloud’s 71.
By the 11th and 12th rounds, Campillo was beginning to showboat but Cloud had no answers. As the final bell rung, Campillo raised his arms in victory and kept them up until ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. announced that Cloud had successfully defended his title.
“I feel like I won the fight,” said Cloud. “I knocked him down a few times and was the aggressor throughout. I wanted to put him away but sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t.
“I wanted to stay busy and be aggressive. I did that. He was a busy fighter, and that’s what the crowd here in Corpus Christi responded to. The difference is I was landing the power shots, and that’s what the judges responded to.”
“I’m disappointed,” said Campillo. “This was one of the best fights of my career but this is not the first time it’s happened to me. He won the first but after that I dominated. I won the fight no question.”
The televising of preliminary boxing bouts on SHOWTIME EXTREME started out with a bang as Chris Arreola (34-2, 30 KOs, 1 ND), of Riverside, Calif., stunned Eric Molina (18-2, 14 KOs), of Raymondville, Texas, with a first-round knockout just 30 seconds shy of the bell. Molina caught Arreola early with a right but it only seemed to wake the sleeping giant as Arreola responded with a barrage of punches that ended with a flush right to the temple. Molina hit the canvas and stayed there until the count of ten in the heavyweight bout scheduled for 12 rounds.
“I wasn’t hurt so much but it was a nice clean right hand and the way he came at me, I could see every punch coming,” said Arreola. “I was blocking and blocking and waiting for my punch. Once I swung out of the ropes I knew it was my time to work.
“I’m a commodity, a big Mexican commodity. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to become the first Mexican heavyweight world champion.”
In the opening bout on SHOWTIME EXTREME, Malik Scott (33-0, 11 KOs) won an eight-round unanimous decision over Kendrick Releford (22-16-2, 10 KOs) by the scores of 80-72 twice and 79-73.
Justin Williams (4-5-1, 2 KOs) won a surprise upset over Alfonso Lopez (22-3, 17 KOs) with a six-round unanimous decision by the scores of 58-55 twice and 57-56. Williams scored a second-round knockdown with a perfectly timed right hand.
The event was presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions. The Williams-Ishida bout was promoted in association with Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions. The Cloud vs. Campillo bout was promoted by Don King Productions in association with Sampson Boxing, LLC.
For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please visit the website at http://sports.SHO.com.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
