Opponent forced to retire after falling out of ring
Paul Williams claimed a bizarre victory over Kermit Cintron on Saturday night after the Puerto Rican tumbled out of the ring and crashed into a table forcing his retirement.
The light middleweight bout was in just its fourth round when the pair came together, with Cintron tripping over Williams' left leg and careering through the ropes.
Having hit a ringside table, Cintron sustained an injury to his head and was subsequently strapped to a stretcher and carried from the arena in a neck brace.
Although he wanted to continue, the frustrated Puerto Rican was taken to hospital in an ambulance after consultation with the ringside doctor.
As the fight was held under California state rules, a decision had to be taken as the contest had reached three rounds and thus Williams - ahead on two of the three judges' scorecards - was awarded a split decision win.
However, the rangy American conceded afterwards it was a far from satisfactory outcome, stating: "It's a strange way to get a win.
"I'll try to fight better the next time... I definitely don't want to see a guy get hurt. I wanted to hurt him with a punch, not by him falling out of the ring.
"I feel bad. The fans didn't get their money's worth, but I'll try more to give it to them the next time."
The fight had been largely uneventful before the extraordinary episode in the fourth, with both boxers struggling to land.
Indeed, Williams found the target with just 13 per cent of his 207 punches, while Cintron connected with 23 per cent of his 126 blows.
It now seems likely that a rematch will ensue, with Cintron's promoter Lou DiBella saying: "No one really knew who won that fight. There wasn't enough fight to be judged. It was three and a half rounds. That's not a fight. There should be a rematch, and he's a man's man. I think he'll give him a rematch."
