Danny Williams bows out on a defeat
It was the end of the road for Danny Williams on Saturday night as his rollercoaster ride of a career was polished off with a disastrous second-round defeat to Derek Chisora in their British heavyweight title clash.
The former Commonwealth bronze medallist went into this match-up knowing that it would likely be his swansong. However any hopes he had of a dream ending were shattered when Chisora nabbed his strap with a clinical knockout.
Williams has been saying for some time now that he is a shot fighter. He looked it to be honest, a bit of a lumbering lump, he got about the ring slowly and threw punches meekly a shadow of his former self.
For too much of his career Williams has divided opinions - he can go from warrior to mouse in a split second. He beat Mark Potter with one arm, but he also lost to Carl “The Fridge” Baker and that about sums up Williams. For every Mike Tyson night there has been a Sinan Samil Sam night as boxing’s Mr Nice guy failed to find his killer edge consistently.
Chisora is far from the complete boxer but he took the British title from Williams with consummate ease. He knocked “The Brixton Bomber” around the ring, sent him to the deck with a left and then he delivered an overhand right that finally felled the big man for the last time.
Williams really didn’t look to clever as he hit the ropes and there’s no question that its time for him to retire. In truth he should have done so a long time ago, in fact any boxer who loses to The Fridge would probably be well advised to hang up their gloves.
Yet Williams will still be remembered for his lionhearted moments; the Tyson defeat was the one that brought him to the nation’s attention. Granted it wasn’t the early destructive version of Tyson but a rundown shell of the warrior, but it was still Tyson and no-one expect Williams to win. The subsequent world-title fight with Vitali Klitschko, although a crushing defeat, was a measure of the south Londoners spirit as he gave everything but was out classed by a superior boxer.
Other highlights of Williams’s career involve dishing out first defeats to top domestic rivals, Matt Skelton and amusingly Audley Harrison. Although true to Williams form he subsequently lost rematches to them both.
The defining moment for Williams has to be that afore mentioned one-armed victory against Potter. Having dislocated his shoulder he bravely fought on and just as defeat looked on the cards, his right arm was just swinging there horrifically and must have hurt like an elephant taking a nap on your head. Yet somehow he threw his other arm out and caught Potter with a pearler of a left uppercut and there can only be a few examples of such a courageous act inside the ring.
Like Williams said though, he is now a shot fighter and has already made his plans for the future. You can’t imagine Williams working for a baker or an accountant; he will be a celebrity bodyguard.
But he will be remembered fondly and as Williams poetically put it “I’ve had battles with the like of Vitali Klitschko, Mark Potter, Harry Senior and Matt Skelton and those chip away at you. I’ve been to the well too many times and now it is totally empty.”
The hope has to be that Williams means it and is not tempted to return to that well once again.
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