Former two-time welterweight beltholder Paul Williams will return to the ring in a Showtime-televised junior middleweight bout on Feb. 18 against Nobuhiro Ishida at a site to be determined, RingTV.com has learned.
Williams (40-2, 27 knockouts) will be ending a seven-month absence from the ring against Ishida (24-6-2, 9 KOs), a 36-year-old veteran from Japan, who upset James Kirkland last April.
Williams, who split fights with left-handers Carlos Quintana and Sergio Martinez before struggling to a disputed majority decision over Erislandy Lara last July, has had trouble with southpaws. However, against Ishida, the 30-year-old southpaw will be in with a right-handed boxer.
LARA-RONALD HEARNS WILL BE ON THE VICTOR ORTIZ-ANDRE BERTO UNDERCARD
RingTV.com announced on Dec. 20 that Lara will meet Ronald Hearns (26-2, 20 KOs) in a Showtime-televised undercard bout to a main event featuring the rematch between RING No. 3-rated welterweight Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KOs) and RING No. 4-rated RING No. 4-rated Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KOs) on Feb. 11 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The opening bout will display featherweight Gary Russell (19-0, 11 KOs), THE RING’s Prospect of the Year, opposite an opponent to be determined.
