Nicknamed the “Punisher” because of his remarkable work-rate and granite chin, Williams is scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday in an attempt to stabilize his spinal column, which suffered traumatic damage in the accident, according to Peterson.
The two-time welterweight champion Williams was in Marietta, Ga., to attend his brother’s wedding on Monday and was driving back from the bachelor party around 7 a.m. on Sunday when he got into the accident, Peterson said. Williams was going around a curb when he swerved out of the way of a driver of a car who was on the inside lane that Williams told Peterson was “on his cell phone.”
Williams is listed in serious but stable condition and has full use of his upper body, Peterson said.
“He got separated from the motorcycle and must have gone about 65 feet in the air,” said Peterson, who left Williams’ side in the Atlanta area hospital to speak to the Daily News. He declined to give the name of the hospital to protect Williams’ privacy.
“He was doing about 75 mph on the motorcycle. When he came down, he came down on his back and when he came down on his back, of course he severed his spinal cord. He’s paralyzed from the waist down. In terms of him walking again... that will never happen.”
Peterson described Williams as being in good spirits despite the seriousness of the injury. Williams even joked to Peterson to bring his "mitt man" to his hospital room so he can continue to train for his Sept. 15 bout with Alvarez, the WBC middleweight champion. Peterson said the bout, which was to be shown on Pay-Per-View, was off.
“It’s the same old Paul,” Peterson said. “As I was walking out of the door to talk to you, he said, ‘Believe me, if I don’t ever box again, I’m going to do some stand-up comedy.’ He’s not suffering.”
Riding his bike was one of the few hobbies that Williams had, in addition to collecting guns, his longtime promoter, Dan Goossen told the Daily News. Peterson said he’s had a number of conversations with Williams about the dangers of riding his bike.
“Paul has a few hobbies that I’m not particularly fond of,” Goossen said. “One was guns, and this was one that George was on top of to keep him away from motorcycles. But I really don’t know too much about the circumstances as it relates to the motorcycle.”
Williams first rose to prominence as a 6-1 southpaw with an indestructible chin who won a decision against Antonio Margarito in 2007, who was then perhaps the most avoided fighter in the sport. Williams lost his next bout against Carlos Quintana by decision but quickly avenged that loss, stopping Quintana in the first round. His career had dipped recently when he endured a hellacious knockout at the hands of Sergio Martinez in 2010.
But he had been on the comeback trail, winning a disputed decision against Erislandy Lara last year before capturing a decision against Nobuhiro Ishida in February, the same Japanese boxer who halted James Kirkland in just one round.
Goossen promoted Williams for all of those bouts and was looking forward to Williams reclaiming his spot atop the rankings with a win against Alvarez.
“We’ve been together for many, many years,” Goossen said. “It’s shocking. That’s the best way I can describe it. I’m sitting here not grasping it yet.”
As for his Sept. 15 bout with Alvarez, Goossen didn’t have much to say.
“To tell you the truth, [the fight] hasn’t entered my mind, in terms of his boxing career,” Goossen said. “This is obviously devastating news from a personal standpoint and I think, just trying to come to grips with his part of it is tough right now. Life just has a certain way of changing day by day,” he added. “That’s why you cherish the time you have on this earth. It’s shocking news.”
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