Paul Williams feels good, remains confident

LAS VEGAS – A motorcycle accident took away Paul Williams’ legs, but not his confidence.

It was there, as evident as ever Friday when he came out of an elevator at the MGM Grand before the weigh-in for the Showtime-televised junior- fight between Canelo Alvarez and Josesito Lopez Saturday night.

Williams was in a wheelchair. But he made it sound as if that chair was a temporary vehicle until that day when he believes he will recover, perhaps enough to even fight again.

“I feel good,’’ Williams said. “This is a small thing for a giant.’’

Williams is in Las Vegas for a fight that was supposed to include him against Canelo before the accident in Atlanta left him paralyzed. In his brief comments to 15 Rounds and Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, it wasn’t clear what his condition was.

But his confidence was unmistakable. Williams has faith that he will walk again in a path that might even take him up those steps, through the ropes and into the ring for another opening bell.

“I think I can come back,’’ Williams said. “Give it two or three years. I’ll come back.’’ If Williams had been Canelo’s opponent instead of the undersized Lopez in a Golden Boy-promoted bout, there’s speculation that rival Top Rank would have moved Saturday night’s other fight, Sergio Martinez-versus-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for the at Thomas & Mack Center, to a different date, possibly Oct. 6.

The consensus is that Williams-Canelo would have been more competitive and marketable than Canelo-Lopez.

Weights from the MGM

About 90 minutes before the Martinez-Chavez weigh-in, Canelo and Lopez stepped on the scales. Canelo looked solid at 154 pounds, the junior-middleweight limit. Lopez looked a little soft at 153, his heaviest ever.

“I’m not as weak as I look,’’ Lopez joked a day before the weigh-in. “I just look skinny.’’

At opening bell, Lopez expects Canelo to be at 170, which would mean about a 10-pound advantage for the favored Mexican, who holds the ’s version of the title.

Notes, Quotes

· Golden Boy announced a sellout Friday for the Canelo-Lopez featured card. Within minutes of the announcement, tickets were still available on Ticketmaster.

· Jose Benavidez Jr., an unbeaten junior-welterweight prospect from Phoenix, has been added to the Top Rank card featuring Nonito Donaire versus Toshiaki Nishioka at Carson, Calif., on Oct. 13. Benavidez is expected to fight Raul Tovar.