Paul Williams surgery postponed until Friday

Paul Williams, the former world welterweight boxing champion who was left paralyzed below the waist after a motorcycle accident Sunday, will have surgery on Friday.

Williams was originally scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday but it was postponed until the end of the week, promoter Dan Goossen said.

“Paul believes he’ll overcome this and walk again,” Goossen said. “This is the battle he has to overcome now, and when I hear Paul’s voice, I know there’s a shot. If there’s a little opening to make this better, Paul will find it.”

Due to the crash, Williams was scratched from his scheduled Sept. 15 pay-per-view fight againstMexico’sSaul “Canelo” Alvarez at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Alvarez promoter Richard Schaefer said Wednesday that possible replacement opponent James Kirkland was medically cleared to train for a Sept. 15 fight following arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder earlier this spring.

Schaefer said negotiations with Kirkland’s representatives are in progress.

“If that fight is made, you can leave the judges at home, because with those two guys going at it, a knockout is guaranteed,” Schaefer said.

Additionally, Schaefer said Alvarez will watch from ringside Saturday when fellow world super-welterweight champion Austin Trout defends his belt against Delvin Rodriguez on the undercard of the Showtime-televised Antonio Tarver-Lateef Kayode cruiserweight main event at Home Depot Center in Carson.

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