Paul Williams: Down, But Not Out

No sport is home to more tragedy than boxing. Death, career-ending injury, brain damage. These can be the legacy of the cruelest of sports. But a different kind of cruelty it is when a young boxer, on the verge of becoming a superstar and earning millions of dollars, suddenly has it all taken away.

No one could have anticipated Paul Williams suffering a spinal cord injury in an accident and losing both his boxing career and his ability to walk. But in May, 2012, Williams was lucky to survive at all. But those who know the facts and feel sorry for him, just aren’t paying attention. Jason Langendorf wrote this inspiring story for Vice Sports, offering a different perspective.

When Williams arrived by ambulance at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, doctors stabilized him and assessed the damage. The diagnosis was grim: Paul was paralyzed below the waist. His spinal cord had been severely damaged and in all likelihood he would never walk again.

Williams says he was told by hospital workers that his was one of three motorcycle crashes in the Atlanta metro area that weekend, and that he was the only rider among them who survived.

“They were like, ‘We don’t know how you made it.'”

Vice story on Paul Williams: https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/nzpgg8/down-but-not-out-the-story-of-paralyzed-former-boxing-champion-paul-williams