Paul Williams Paralyzed From Waist Down After Motorcycle Crash in Georgia

Boxer Paul Williams suffered a serious injury after a motorcycle crash on Sunday in Marietta, Georgia that left him paralyzed from the waist down, George Peterson, Williams’ trainer and manager, said Monday.

“From the waist down, he has absolutely no movement,” Peterson told the Associated Press. “He’s in very good spirits, though. He still believes he’s going to fight again.”

Williams crashed while trying to avoid an oncoming car, and was thrown from his motorcycle. The trauma to the boxer’s back and head from the accident reportedly severed his spine. Peterson says that doctors told Williams that he will never walk again.

“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 said.

Williams, known as “The Punisher,” was in Marietta to attend his brother’s wedding later that afternoon.

According to a report from WRDW in Augusta, Georgia, Williams will be undergoing surgery on Wednesday to stabilize the upper half of the his healthy spinal column by putting a protective wall around it.

Williams was scheduled to fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on September 15 in Las Vegas, but Peterson said that the fight has been canceled. “Right now, there’s no thinking about any fights right now except for the fight that’s facing Paul right now — to get movement back in his body and keep the movement that’s above his waist.”