Danny Williams (boxer)

Danny Williams
Statistics
Real name	Daniel Williams
Nickname(s)	Brixton Bomber
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m)
Reach	79 in (201 cm)
Nationality	English
Born	13 July 1973 (1973-07-13) (age 38) Brixton, London, England
Stance	[Orthodox]
Boxing record
Total fights	55
Wins	44
Wins by KO	33
Losses	10(6KO)
Draws	0
No contests	1

Medal record
Competitor for  England
Men’s Boxing
European Amateur Championships
Bronze	1993 Bursa	Heavyweight
Commonwealth Games
Bronze	1994 Victoria	Super Heavyweight

Daniel "Danny" Williams (born 13 July 1973, London, England) is an English professional heavyweight boxer.

Amateur

As an amateur boxing out of the famous Lynn AC boxing gym in SE London, Williams learned his trade quickly, often sparring with the likes of clubmates Henry Akinwande and Derek Angol. In 1991 Williams won the PLA tournament and won a gold medal in Sardinia multination tournament and a gold medal in a Greek multinations tournament. In a Finland multinations in 1992 he won a bronze medal.

Williams won a bronze medal at the European Championships 1993 at heavyweight in the 91 kg/201 lbs limit and bronze at super heavyweight at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.^[1] Williams also won a gold medal at the 1994 Liverpool multinations tournament. His amateur record was 29-6.

Professional

Williams turned pro in 1995 knocking out Vance Ideans in two rounds. He fought routinely on Frank Warren undercards and compiled a 15-0 (12 knockouts) record. He is currently managed by London promoter Michael Helliet and is trained by Jim McDonagh.^[2]

He took his first big step up in April 1999 to challenge Julius Francis for his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles. A hot favourite, Williams was outboxed and lost a points decision to the 34 year old veteran.

Francis would later vacate the Commonwealth title for a big money fight with Mike Tyson, and Williams won the title with a closely contested split decision over respected British contender (and former amateur clubmate) Harry Senior.

British and Commonwealth champion

In 2000 Williams put together four knockouts before fighting Mark Potter for the Commonwealth title and the vacant British title. In a dramatic fight, Williams suffered a grotesque dislocated right arm, yet very bravely fought on with one arm and knocked Potter out with a left uppercut.^[3]

After an eight month layoff for surgery and recovery, Williams returned to bomb out Kali Meehan in 32 seconds,^[4] then avenged his defeat to Francis, stopping the 36 year old on an eye injury in the 4th round.^[5] Afterwards he was signed by Don King and ended 2001 knocking out US journeyman Shaun Robinson in two rounds on an undercard in America.^[6] His tenure under King would prove to be uneventful, and he did not renew his contract at the end of 2002, a year that saw Williams retain his British and Commonwealth titles with a knockout of late sub Michael Sprott^[7] and a points win over Keith Long. As this was Williams' third defence of the British title, he won the Lonsdale belt outright,^[8] before dropping out of a fight in America with hard hitting South African southpaw Corrie Sanders, because it coincided with Ramadan.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2003 Williams travelled to Germany to fight the Turk Sinan Samil Sam for his European heavyweight title. A hot favourite, Williams was surprisingly dropped three times and stopped in six rounds.^[9] In the UK, his local rivals Audley Harrison and Herbie Hide derided him in the press.

In January 2004 Williams re-signed with Frank Warren. After two comeback knockout wins, in July he went to Louisville, Kentucky to fight former World champion Mike Tyson. Tyson suffered ligament damage to his knee during the fight and was counted out sitting with his back to the ropes after a torrent of punches from Williams in the fourth round. Tyson made no attempt to get to his feet while looking up at the referee.

In December he finally challenged for the world heavyweight title, but Vitali Klitschko proved too much, as Williams was stopped in the 8th round.^[10]

After the world title challenge

In December Williams regained his old Commonwealth belt by beating undefeated, Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison.

Williams retained the Commonwealth title with a win over undefeated Matt Skelton in March 2006.

In December 2006 when Skelton dropped out of a fight with Audley Harrison, Williams stepped in at a weeks notice, although by his own admission he had been training for eight weeks for a fight with British champion Scott Gammer. Williams lost by tko in the 3rd round, suffering a broken nose.

In March 2007 Williams regained the British title in Wales with a 9th round knockout of Scott Gammer. Williams came in at the lightest he had been since his pro debut 16 stones 4 pounds {4 stones lighter than his previous fight} after training himself for the fight just with a piece of paper that contained a conditioning programme given to him by Joe Dunbar who had worked with Lennox Lewis.

After he had watched the tape of his fight with Gammer, Williams decided he would continue boxing and took a fight with 26-1 22 KOs Ukrainian prospect Oleg Platov. He came in again at 270 lbs. Both fighters were engaged in wild exchanges from the first bell on. The Ukrainian picked up a badly-bleeding cut above the left eye following an accidental headbutt in the second round and he continued to swing wild punches but not without taking some huge shots from Williams. After 2:15 in the fourth and with the cut getting worse, the referee waved the fight off. According to the rules of the IBF, it was declared a no contest. Sauerland managing director Chris Meyer defended the decision. "The rules are clear," he said. "We had an accidental headbutt and the referee, who consulted the doctor several times, ruled he could not continue to protect his health. Speaking exclusively to SecondsOut after the fight a disappointed Williams said: “He (Platov) was looking for a way out and he got it. He knew the rules and worked them. He was starting to tire and knew it was only a matter of time before I knocked him out. ...I found it slow in the early rounds but I when I got going I started to get on top. He knew I was gonna knock him out and he was looking for a way out. I’m not sure whether or not it was a punch or a head clash that cut him in the second round. It took be a little while to get going but I really enjoyed it, it was a great fight while it lasted. But he was looking for a way out. He kept falling to the floor and it was only a matter of time before I knocked him out.”^{[citation needed]}

Airich fight

On 30 May 2008 Williams defeated unbeaten German, Konstantin Airich in a highly controversial fight. Williams had a total of 3 points deducted in rounds 2 and 5^[11] creating a feeling afterwards that the referee was blatantly on the side of the German. In addition he was given 2 standing 8 counts by the referee in round 3 despite not actually being knocked down or touching the canvas, and was also counted after slipping in round 4.^[12] After managing to fight back and score a knockdown himself in round 5, in the 6th round Williams unleashed a series of extremely punishing blows on his opponent sending him reeling across the ring At this point Airich's promoter Ahmet Oner controversially ran over and rang the timekeeper's bell himself to end the round and save his fighter, even though there was still 1:28 left to go in the round.^[13] Despite this confusion the fight continued after the shortened 6th round and after seeing his man absorb more heavy punishment in the next round Oner eventually threw in the towel handing Williams a 7th round TKO victory.

In the aftermath of the fight Williams was extremely critical of the performance of both the referee and fight promoters, and has called for the British Boxing Board of Control to conduct an immediate investigation into the fight.^[14][15]

McDermott fights

Williams faced John McDermott at Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham on 18 July 2008. Despite being deducted three points in rounds eleven and twelve, he defeated McDermott in a majority points decision. He was due to face John McDermott in a rematch at York Hall on 8 November 2008, but McDermott withdrew due to a rib injury. Williams also faced a bout with Francois Botha on 30 November 2008 in Egypt.^[16] Polish fighter Albert Sosnowski was called in as a late replacement for McDermott. Williams suffered a shock defeat by 8th round TKO and as a result the Botha fight was called off. The McDermott rematch was finally arranged for the 2 May 2009 in a defence of the British Heavyweight Championship belt that Williams held. Williams won the match on split decision.

Prizefighter

Williams took part in the Prizefighter tournament on 2 October 2009. In the run up to the tournament Williams said he would knock out Audley Harrison and show himself as the best British heavyweight. In his first bout on the night, Carl Baker from Sheffield beat Williams on points after knocking him down twice in the opening round.

Chisora fight

Williams defended his British title for a third and final time against Derek Chisora on 15 May 2010. Williams lost by KO in round two. Before the fight he promised this would be his last fight, win or lose, but he has yet to announce his retirement. The fight was originally due to take place against Sam Sexton in February but was put back to May after Sexton injured his hand. Sexton withdrew from the fight again after his mother suffered a brain aneurysm and Chisora stepped in as a replacement.^[17]

Comeback

Williams returned to boxing after nearly a year of inactivity with a 2nd Round TKO victory over German Frank Kary Roth in Bielefeld on March 5, 2011. On April 9, he scored his second KO win since his comeback. He won a 1 round KO against Hungarian Laszlo Toth. On June 25 Williams suffered a bad TKO defeat against Manuel Charr. He lost by TKO in round 7.^[18] Hen Then won a SD against Alfred Cole on September 3, in Sweden.

Islam

Williams is a devout Muslim and was first drawn to Islam while abroad, "I went to Turkey and heard the Adhan" he explained. "I was a Christian at the time and I got goose bumps and carried on looking into Islam and I just felt this was the way of life for me and this was the way of life for God."^[19]

Professional boxing record

44 Wins (33 knockouts, 11 decisions), 10 Losses, 0 Draws[20]
Result	Record	Opponnent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	44–10 1 NC	Alfred Cole	SD	6 (6)	2011-09-03	Karlstad CCC, Karlstad, Sweden
Lose	43–10 1 NC	Manuel Charr	TKO	7 (10)	2011-06-25	Lanxess-Arena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Win	43–9 1 NC	Laszlo Toth	KO	1 (10) N/A	2011-04-09	Class, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Win	42–9 1 NC	Frank Kary Roth	TKO	2 (6) 1:25	2011-03-05	Sportpalast, Bielefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Lose	41–9 1 NC	Derek Chisora	TKO	2 (12) 1:41	2010-05-15	Boleyn Ground, Upton Park, London, England	Lost BBBofC British Heavyweight Title Williams down twice in the second round.
Lose	41–8 1 NC	Carl Baker (boxer)	UD	3 (3)	2009-10-02	ExCel Arena, Dockland, London, England	'Prizefighter' Tournament Heavyweight Quarter-Final. Williams down twice in the 1st round.
Win	41–7 1 NC	John McDermott	SD	12 (12)	2009-05-02	Crowtree Leisure Centre, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England	Retained BBBofC British Heavyweight Title
Lose	40–7 1 NC	Albert Sosnowski	TKO	8 (10) 1:17	2008-11-08	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England	Williams down in 8th
Win	40–6 1 NC	John McDermott	MD	12 (12)	2008-07-18	Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, Essex, England	Retained BBBofC British Heavyweight Title Three points deducted from Williams (2 points in 11th for low blows and pushing & 1 in the 12th for ejecting his gumshield)
Win	39–6 1 NC	Konstantin Airich	TKO	7 (8) 3:00	2008-05-30	Pabellon Lasesarre, Baracaldo, País Vasco, Spain
Win	38–6 1 NC	Marcus McGee	UD	6 (6)	2008-04-12	St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida, United States
NC	37–6 1 NC	Oleg Platov	NC	4 (12)	2007-12-08	St. Jakob Halle, Basel, Switzerland	IBF Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title
Win	37–6	Scott Gammer	KO	9 (12) 1:58	2007-03-02	Neath Sports Centre, Neath, Wales	Retained BBBofC British Heavyweight Title
Lose	36–6	Audley Harrison	TKO	3 (12) 2:32	2006-12-09	ExCel Arena, Dockland, London, England
Lose	36–5	Matt Skelton	UD	12 (12)	2006-07-08	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Lost Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title
Win	36–4	Adnan Serin	RTD	3 (10)	2006-05-20	Kings Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Win	35–4	Matt Skelton	SD	12 (12)	2006-02-25	ExCel Arena, Dockland, London, England	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title
Win	34–4	Audley Harrison	SD	12 (12)	2005-12-10	ExCel Arena, Dockland, London, England	Won vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title
Win	33–4	Zoltan Petranyi	TKO	3 (8) 1:24	2005-06-04	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, England
Lose	32–4	Vitali Klitschko	TKO	8 (12) 1:26	2004-12-11	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBC World Heavyweight Title Williams down in the 1st, 3rd, 7th & 8th rds.
Win	32–3	Mike Tyson	KO	4 (10) 2:51	2004-07-30	Freedom Hall State Fairgrounds, Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Win	31–3	Augustin N'Gou	TKO	3 (12)	2004-05-13	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England	Won vacant WBU International Heavyweight Title WBU Heavyweight Title Eliminator Augustin retires with torn biceps
Win	30–3	Ratko Draskovic	TKO	1 (8)	2004-04-01	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England
Lose	29–3	Michael Sprott	PTS	12 (12)	2004-01-24	Conference Centre, Wembley, London, England	Lost BBBofC British Heavyweight Title Lost Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title
Win	29–2	Michael Sprott	TKO	5 (12)	2003-09-26	Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire, England	Retained BBBofC British Heavyweight Title Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title
Win	28–2	Bob Mirovic	TKO	4 (12) 2:33	2003-04-26	Fountain Leisure Centre, Brentford, London, England	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title
Lose	27–2	Sinan Samil Sam	TKO	6 (12) 2:56	2003-02-08	Estrel Convention Center, Neukoelln, Berlin, Germany	EBU (European) Heavyweight Title Williams down three times.
Win	27–1	Keith Long	PTS	12 (12)	2002-09-17	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title. Williams wins Lonsdale belt outright.
Win	26–1	Michael Sprott	TKO	7 (12)	2002-02-12	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title.
Win	25–1	Shawn Robinson	TKO	2 (8) 2:21	2001-12-15	Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States	Robinson down in the 1st round & down twice in the 2nd round.
Win	24–1	Julius Francis	TKO	4 (12) 2:15	2001-07-28	Conference Centre, Wembley, London, England	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title.
Win	23–1	Kali Meehan	TKO	1 (12) 0:32	2001-06-09	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England	Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title
Win	22–1	Mark Potter	TKO	6 (12) 2:41	2000-10-21	Conference Centre, Wembley, London, England	Won vacant BBBofC British Heavyweight Title Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title Williams dislocated his right shoulder early in the fight before coming back to stop Potter with his left.
Win	21–1	Quinn Navarre	TKO	6 (8)	2000-09-23	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England
Win	20–1	Craig Bowen-Price	KO	1 (8) 2:13	2000-06-24	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland
Win	19–1	Michael Murray	KO	6 (10)	2000-05-06	Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Win	18–1	Anton Nel	KO	5 (8) 2:29	2000-02-19	Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, Essex, England
Win	17–1	Harry Senior	PTS	12 (12)	1999-12-18	Elephant & Castle Centre, Southwark, London, England
Win	16–1	Ferenc Deak	KO	1 (8)	1999-10-02	Namur, Namur, Belgium
Lose	15–1	Julius Francis	PTS	12 (12)	1999-04-03	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England	BBBofC British Heavyweight Title Commonwealth (British Empire) Heavyweight Title Francis wins the Lonsdale Belt outright
Win	15–0	Antoine Palatis	UD	12 (12)	1998-10-10	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England	vacant WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title Title had been vacated by Vitaly Klitschko to fight for the EBU title
Win	14–0	Juan Antonio Diaz	KO	3 (8)	1998-05-16	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England
Win	13–0	Shane Woollas	TKO	2 (8)	1998-02-21	Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Win	12–0	Derek Amos	TKO	4 (8)	1997-12-19	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	11–0	Bruce Douglas	TKO	2 (8)	1997-11-15	Whitchurch Leisure Centre, Bristol, Avon, England
Win	10–0	Roger McKenzie	TKO	2 (8)	1997-07-19	The Arena, Wembley, London, England
Win	9–0	Albert Call	TKO	4 (6)	1997-05-03	Nynex Arena, Manchester, England
Win	8–0	Shane Woollas	KO	2 (6)	1997-02-08	New London Arena, Millwall, London, England
Win	7–0	Michael Murray	TKO	1 (4)	1996-11-09	Nynex Arena, Manchester, England
Win	6–0	Andy Lambert	TKO	2 (4)	1996-08-31	The Point, Dublin, Ireland
Win	5–0	John Pierre	PTS	4 (4)	1996-07-13	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England
Win	4–0	James Wilder	PTS	4 (4)	1996-03-09	Green Glens Arena, Millstreet, Ireland
Win	3–0	Alvin Miller	TKO	1 (4)	1996-02-13	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England
Win	2–0	Joey Paladino	TKO	1 (4)	1995-12-09	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England
Win	1–0	Vance Idiens	KO	2 (4)	1995-10-21	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ http://michaelhellietmanagement.com/Boxer.aspx?ID=18
3. ^ "Hero Williams pulls out victory". BBC Sport. 21 October 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/984091.stm. 
4. ^ "Williams wants Audley fight". BBC Sport. 10 June 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/1381867.stm. 
5. ^ "Sweet revenge for Williams". BBC Sport. 28 July 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/1462618.stm. 
6. ^ "Ruiz retains WBA title". BBC Sport. 16 December 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/1713737.stm. 
7. ^ "Williams retains heavyweight crowns". BBC Sport. 12 February 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/1809388.stm. 
8. ^ "Williams retains British title". BBC Sport. 17 September 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/2254305.stm. 
9. ^ "Williams stopped in Berlin". BBC Sport. 13 February 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/2739785.stm. 
10. ^ Trickett, Alex (12 December 2004). "Exposed Williams hits Klitschko wall". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/4089453.stm. 
11. ^ The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2008/06/02/uobox102.xml. ^{[dead link]}
12. ^ Williams-Airich Video: Watch an amazing heavyweight battle as Danny Williams takes on Konstantin Airich, the referee and others!
13. ^ "Williams to lodge fight complaint". BBC Sport. 2 June 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/7431510.stm. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
14. ^ Boxing: Williams lodges complaint - Setanta Sports
15. ^ Danny Williams Demands Investigation of Airich Bout - Boxing News
16. ^ "Williams slams ref over Mcdermott bout". Boxing Scene. 19 July 2008. http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15020. Retrieved 19 July 2008. 
17. ^ "Sam Sexton withdraws from Danny Williams title fight". BBC Sport. 2 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/8656949.stm. 
18. ^ http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/results-from-cologne-88045
19. ^ "Williams on Islam". BBC. 10 July 2005. http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2005/10/07/danny_williams_071005_feature.shtml. Retrieved 10 July 2005. 
20. ^ http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=6522&cat=boxer

External links

• Professional boxing record for Danny Williams from BoxRec
• Danny Williams forum

Vacant Title last held by Julius Francis	Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion December 18 1999 - January 24 2004	Succeeded by Michael Sprott
Vacant Title last held by Mike Holden	British Heavyweight Champion October 21 2000 - January 24 2004
Vacant Title last held by Matt Skelton	Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion December 10 2005 - July 8 2006	Succeeded by Matt Skelton
Preceded by Scott Gammer	British Heavyweight Champion March 22 2007 - May 15 2010	Succeeded by Derek Chisora

Persondata
Name	Williams, Danny
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	13 July 1973
Place of birth	Brixton, London, England
Date of death
Place of death