Paul 'The Punisher' Williams likely paralyzed after wreck

[kevo]

Just seen this on Twitter, terrible news.

Monday, May 28, 2012

ATLANTA -- In a decorated career in the boxing ring, Paul Williams picked up three belts and the nickname, "The Punisher." Now, Williams has a bigger fight ahead.

After a Sunday morning motorcycle crash near Atlanta, Williams is likely paralyzed from the waist down.

Manager George Peterson told News 12 that he's in the hospital with a surgery scheduled for Wednesday. That surgery will be to stabilize the healthy upper half of his spine by putting a protective wall around it.

Williams was schedule to fight Saul Alvarez for the WBC Light Middleweight title Sept. 15 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The product of the Aiken Boxing Club has a career record of 41-2-0, with 27 knockouts. He's the two-time holder of the WBO Welterweight championship and has held the WBO Light Middleweight belt once.

http://www.wrdw.com/sports/headlines/Bo ... gU.twitter

[Greavesy]

shocking news

[Palimpsest]

Sad news indeed if true, I hope the prognosis is wrong and he makes a full recovery,

[Final round]

That's terrible news...

[safeerah]

Just seen this on Twitter, terrible news.

Monday, May 28, 2012

ATLANTA -- In a decorated career in the boxing ring, Paul Williams picked up three belts and the nickname, "The Punisher." Now, Williams has a bigger fight ahead.

After a Sunday morning motorcycle crash near Atlanta, Williams is likely paralyzed from the waist down.

Manager George Peterson told News 12 that he's in the hospital with a surgery scheduled for Wednesday. That surgery will be to stabilize the healthy upper half of his spine by putting a protective wall around it.

Williams was schedule to fight Saul Alvarez for the WBC Light Middleweight title Sept. 15 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The product of the Aiken Boxing Club has a career record of 41-2-0, with 27 knockouts. He's the two-time holder of the WBO Welterweight championship and has held the WBO Light Middleweight belt once.

http://www.wrdw.com/sports/headlines/Bo ... gU.twitter

Very good fighter, what a shame, I fancied him to give alvarez trouble.

[Datsue]

Fvck me, that's awful. Really sorry to hear that.

[Bennyblanco]

Horrible news

[freddydoesdallas]

Tragic news

[jamesmcdonnell]

Oh dear oh dear......what a shame, sad news. I can't imagine anything worse for someone who has been a top flight athlete, than being paralysed for life.

[belowthebelt]

hopefully its not as bad as reported, and even if he cant fight again, he can get some feeling and movement back! bikes are awful, could have been worse!

[Horse]

Sad news.

[exittored]

Terrible for Paul and his family.

Having riden motorcycles in the past i know how easy it is for an accident like this to happen and after one too many crashes i decided to stop riding them not because i was scared of death but more from fear of spending life in a wheelchair.

Hopefully theres still a chance Paul can make a full recovery although it sounds like his boxing career is over.

[banjo]

hopefully its not as bad as reported, and even if he cant fight again, he can get some feeling and movement back! bikes are awful, could have been worse!

Dickheads on the road are awful, nothing wrong with bikes as long as you treat them right.

[yiddo14]

Fingers crossed for him.

[dookus]

Terrible news, I wish him the best recovery possible

[digzee]

Yeh its terrible, I had a car accident an got paralyzed from the neck down so know what he's going through its undescribable, he's a boxer so he must be strong willed so i'm sure he'll be able to handle it an hope he can

[jameswilson]

Awful news. Really hope he can recover fully from this, even if he doesn't fight again.

[whiskey]

Sickening news indeed.

[kells]

thers enuf dick heads who ride bikes,i lost a close friend on these stuped machines,hate them, awful news

[tonyevs]

Horrific news. My fingers are crossed it been over exagerated.

[ALI]

His manager has stated that there is absolutely no chance of him ever walking again. Real shame, moterbikes are dangerous machines, i have a cousin who has been off his 3 times, requiring surgery to the hand once. I've told him to get a car instead but doubt he will take my advice.

[johnswan1]

Very sad. Boxers and motorbikes just don't seem to go together. My missus is a nurse and she says at her hospital they refer to motorcyclists as organ donors. I don't understand why people bother with them. It doesn't matter how good a driver you are or how careful you are - often if somebody else makes a mistake you have very little chance of coming out unscathed.

[stujones]

Terrible news. I was really looking forward to Williams vs Canelo also..... It was an acid test for the Mexican.

Hope for a miracle, it don't sound good.

[Old bones Ian]

Shocking news, i wish him all the best.

Don't know any of the details of the crash, but motorbikes are a gamble. I cycle alot and recently have had a few close scrapes with lorries and people pulling out of junctions.

[johnswan1]

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/1730 ... e-accident

Peterson said that he was in the Washington, D.C. area on Sunday, where Williams traditionally trains, when he was first notified about the boxer's accident.

"I heard about it yesterday morning. We had been in D.C. training, and so that's where I was," said Peterson. "Paul's brother was getting married at about 5 p.m., and Paul was down there for the wedding."

Peterson conveyed Williams' discription of the accident to RingTV.com.

"Paul said he was riding his bike and he and this car were going around a curb. Paul had the outside lane and the car had the inside lane," said Peterson.

"But the car, Paul noticed, couldn't make the turn without coming over into his lane. So Paul tried to give him the room that he would need so that he could avoid from getting hit. That's when he noticed an on-coming car."

Peterson said Williams tried to elude an impact with the opposing vehicle.

"Paul had the choice of hitting the oncoming car head-on, or to go across the highway and down the embankment and down the roadway about a hundred feet," said Peterson.

"Paul landed on his back, and that severed his spinal cord. As a result of that, he was paralyzed from the waist down."

Peterson said that the man who "lost control of his car and swerved over into Paul's lane, he actually stopped and called 911" and waited for the ambulance and paramedics to arrive and to assist Williams.

Peterson said that Wednesday's operation is intended to allow Williams to "use his upperbody, such as his arms, his hands and his neck and so forth."