BOXING: MARGARITO IS UPSET.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

For every terrific fighter, there is an opponent who will give him fits.

Paul Williams on Saturday was that opponent to Antonio Margarito, who went into their main event at Home Depot Center in Carson looking to make the eighth defense of his World Boxing Organization welterweight belt.

Many experts figured Margarito would walk through the lanky Williams, as Margarito is known as one of the most feared fighters in the game. But Williams, a 6-foot-2 southpaw, started fast and held on at the end to take Margarito's belt via unanimous decision in front of an unhappy sellout crowd of 8,000.

Williams clearly outworked Margarito the first half of the fight, and he appeared to do just enough in the second half to stave off a charging Margarito, who cut Williams over the left eye with a vicious right hand in the 11th round.

Thomas Miller of Ohio had Williams winning 116-112. California judges David Mendoza and Marty Sammon gave it to Williams by the same 115-113 count.

"This feels incredibly good, to win here in L.A.," said Williams, who was in his first championship fight. "The fight went as I expected. It was not an easy fight. Margarito is a tough dude and I definitely got stunned."

Williams (33-0) said he executed his strategy to perfection.

"The plan was to start fast and to put the early rounds in the bank, which I did," said Williams, who is promoted by Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions. "We knew that Margarito was a slow starter. In the later rounds, I knew I had to suck it up. We knew Margarito would never quit. But in a lot of ways he was like a tractor the way he kept coming forward, and he was easy pickings."

When the decision was announced, the Margarito faithful voiced their displeasure. So did Tijuana's Margarito (34-5).

"He threw more punches but I landed the harder punches," Margarito said. "I thought it was robbery. I never felt his punches."

In the first half of the fight Williams, 25, moved from side to side, stuck the right jab in Margarito's face and came through with a stiff left cross and an ocassional right hook. Margarito was having difficulty landing anything resembling a clean punch.

Margarito, 29, started to figure out Williams, who seemed to start tiring in the seventh. But just when it looked like Williams might start to fold, he again seemed to find a way beat Margarito to the punch just enough to keep Margarito at bay.

Margarito really came out swinging in the 11th round, and one of his right hands cut Williams' eye.

Margarito seemed to take early control in the 12th and final round, but Willliams finished strongly and won the round on the scorecards of Mendoza and Sammon.

Williams said he next wanted to fight Miguel Cotto, who holds the World Boxing Association belt. But Bob Arum, who promotes Cotto and Margarito, said that is not going to happen.

"Cotto is not going to fight Williams, he is going to fight Shane Mosley," Arum said. "Williams did not win this fight, in my opinion."

On the undercard, Andre Ward, who won the U.S.' only gold medal in the 2004 Olympic Games, is now 13-0 with eight knockouts after he stopped Francisco Diaz at 2:59 of the third round in their super middleweight fight.

Heavyweight prospect Chris "The Nightmare" Arreola lived up to his moniker by destroying an overmatched Derek Berry, knocking him out 57 seconds into their fight, scheduled for 10 rounds. Arreola, of Riverside via Los Angeles, is 21-0 with 19 knockouts.

-- Robert Morales

Gatti says he's done: Arturo Gatti's career came to a painful and bloody end when he was battered by Alfonso Gomez and stopped in the seventh round in Atlantic City, N.J.

Fighting at 147 pounds proved to be too much for the two-time world champion, who failed in his bid to regain his place among boxing's top fighters.

"Hasta la vista, baby," the 35-year-old Gatti told HBO. "I can't be taking this abuse anymore."

A stunned crowd of 9,648 looked on with a mix of surprise and sadness as Gomez (17-3-2) punished his former idol.

In the co-feature, Kermit Cintron showed that he belongs among the best welterweights by posting a second-round knockout over Walter Mathysse.

Jones wins title: Roy Jones Jr. won a 12-round, unanimous decision against previously undefeated Anthony Hanshaw, capturing the vacant IBC light heavyweight title in Biloxi, Miss.

Overseas: Steve Luevano floored Nicky Cook five times on the way to an 11th-round knockout to capture the WBO featherweight title in London to improve to 33-1.

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Photo:

(color) Paul Williams delivers a left to the face of Antonio Margarito in their welterweight title fight.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News