Danny Williams

At 51 years old, Danny Williams has this physical status:

Amateur career

Williams learned his trade quickly, notably sparring with clubmates Henry Akinwande and Derek Angol. Williams captured gold medal in Sardinia's multi-nations tournament in 1991 and a gold medal in the Greek multi-nations tournament. He received a bronze medal in the Finland multi-nations in 1992.

At the 1994 Commonwealth Games, Williams received a bronze medal at the European Championships 1993 at heavyweight, as well as bronze at bronze in the 91 kg/201 lbs limit and bronze at bronze. Williams also won a gold medal at the 1994 Liverpool multi-nations tournament. He was ranked 29–6 on his amateur career.

Professional career

Williams became a professional in 1995, knocking out two rounds of Vance Ideans. He took on Frank Warren undercards every day and set a record of 15-0 (12 knockouts) in a single fight. He is currently under the custody of London promoter Michael Helliet and is trained by Jim McDonagh. He took his first big leap forward in April 1999 to face Julius Francis for his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles. Williams, a long shot, lost in a points draw to the 34-year-old veteran.

Francis will leave the Commonwealth Championships after a big money due to Mike Tyson's return to the United States. Williams gained the title with a close split over respected British contender (and former amateur teammate) Harry Senior.

Williams took down four knockouts before battling Mark Potter for the Commonwealth title and the vacant British crown in 2000. Williams suffered a dislocated right arm and yet fought on with one arm over two rounds before knocking Potter out with a left uppercut in a very dramatic contest.

Williams returned to knock out a respected opponent in 32 seconds, then avenged his loss to Francis after an eight-month layoff, leaving the 36-year-old on an eye injury in the 4th round. He was signed by Don King and ended 2001, knocking out US journeyman Shaun Robinson in two rounds on an undercard in America. Williams' time under King will be uneventful, and he did not renew his deal until 2002, a year when Williams retained his British and Commonwealth titles with a knockout of late sub Michael Sprott and a points win over Keith Long. Williams won the Lonsdale belt outright before falling out of a match in America with tough South African southpaw Corrie Sanders as it coincided with Ramadan.

Williams travelled to Germany in February 2003 to face Turk Sinan Samil Samil Sam for his European heavyweight title. Williams, a hot favorite, was actually down three times and suspended in six rounds. In the United Kingdom, his hometown rivals, Audley Harrison and Herbie Hide derided him in the media.

Williams defeated Australian Bob Mirovic in the fourth round to keep his Commonwealth title and then knocked out Michael Sprott in five rounds to defend his British and Commonwealth titles.

In a third meeting with Michael Sprott with a contested close points decision, Williams resigned with Frank Warren before losing his British and Commonwealth.

Williams boxed former world champion Mike Tyson in a win at Freedom Hall State Fairground, Louisville, Kentucky, in July 2004. Tyson began to tire in the fourth round after Williams threw a flurry of punches, causing Tyson to fall. Tyson was counted out sitting with his back to the ground and made no effort to reach his feet while looking out at the referee. He had to be carried to his feet after being told he had to pull a ligament in his leg later.

He finally qualified for a world heavyweight title in December in December, but Vitali Klitschko was turned down in the 8th round as Williams was disqualified.

Williams regained his old Commonwealth title in December by defeating undefeated Olympic gold medalist Audley Harrison by a split vote. Williams won by a narrow margin over undefeated Matt Skelton in March 2006. Williams lost his Commonwealth title by unanimous vote in a rematch with Skelton after defeating Adnan Serin by a third round retirement.

Skelton pulled out of a fight with Audley Harrison in December 2006, Williams stepped in at a weeks notice. He had been training for eight weeks for a match with British champion Scott Gammer, according to his own admission. Williams lost by T.K.O. In the 3rd round, the nose was broken.

Williams recovered the British title in Wales in March 2007 with a 9th-round knockout of Scott Gammer. Williams came out in the lightest he's been since his pro debut 16 stones 4 pounds 4 stones lighter than his previous fight, but he didn't prepare himself for the fight only with a piece of paper containing a conditioning program delivered to him by Joe Dunbar, who had worked with Lennox Lewis.

Williams decided to keep boxing and defeated Ukrainian prospect Oleg Platov after being on tape of his battle with Gammer. He weighed in at 270 pounds. From the first bell to the second, both fighters were involved in tumultuous chats. Following an accidental headbutt in the second round, the Ukrainian picked up a painful cut above the left eye, but not without receiving some spectacular shots from Williams. The referee waved the game off after 2:15 in the fourth and with the cut getting worse. It was declared a no contest based on the IBF's rules. Chris Meyer, the manager of Sauerland, defended the decision. "The laws are straightforward," he said. "We had an accidental headbutt and the referee, who consulted the doctor several times, decided that he did not continue to protect his health." After the war, Williams said, "He (Platov) was looking for a way out, and he found it" on SecondsOut. He was aware of the rules and followed 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 when I got going, I started to rise to the top. He knew I was going to knock him out and 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 a little while for me to get started, but it was a great fight when it was ongoing. But he was looking for a way out. He was always falling to the ground, and it was only a matter of time before I knocked him out."

Williams defeated Konstantin Airich, an unbeaten German, in a tense confrontation on May 30 in a highly fought battle. In rounds 2 and 5, Williams had a total of 3 points deducted, causing a feeling that the referee was blatantly on the side of the German. In addition, he was given two standing 8 counts by the referee in round 3, despite not being knocked down or touching the canvas, and he was also counted after falling in round 4. In the 6th round Williams unleashed a sequence of humiliating blows on his opponent, sending him reeling across the arena. Even though there were already 1:28 people left in the round, Airich's promoter Ahmet Oner tumultuously ran over and rang the timekeeper's bell himself to call the round end and save his fighter. Despite the chaos, the contest continued after the shorter 6th round saw his man receive more severe punishment in the next round. Oner finally tossed in the towel, giving Williams a 7th-round TKO victory.

Williams was highly critical of both the referee and fighter promoters' results in the aftermath of the war, and he has requested that the British Boxing Board of Control investigate the situation immediately.

On August 18, Williams met John McDermott at Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham. Despite being deducted three points in rounds 11, eleven, and twelve, he defeated McDermott in a majority points decision.

On Monday, he was supposed to face John McDermott in a rematch at York Hall, but McDermott was unable to due to a rib injury. Williams was also engaged in a squabble with Francois Botha on November 30, 2008 in Egypt. Albert Sosnowski, a Polish fighter, had been called in as a late replacement for McDermott.

Williams was stunned by a surprise TKO in the 8th round, and as a result, the Botha fight was called off. The McDermott rematch was finally scheduled for the 2nd May 2009 in a rematch of Williams' British Heavyweight Championship belt. Williams won the game by a points over McDermott.

On October 2nd, 2009, Williams competed in the Prizefighter tournament. In the run-up to the tournament, Williams predicted he would knock out Audley Harrison and emerge as the best British heavyweight. Carl Baker of Sheffield defeated Williams on points after knocking him down twice in the first round.

On May 15, Williams defended his British crown against Derek Chisora for the third time. In round two, Williams was eliminated by KO. He told me this would be his last fight, win or lose, but he has yet to announce his resignation. The brawl was supposed to take place against Sam Sexton in February but it was postponed to May after Sexton injured his hand. Sexton resigned after his mother suffered from a brain aneurysm, but Chisora stepped in as a replacement.

Williams returned to boxing after almost a year of inactivity with a 2nd-round TKO victory over German Frank Kary Roth in Bielefeld on March 5, 2011. Williams was now allowed to fight by the Baltic League of Professional Boxing, with the British Boxing Board of Control expressing concern about Williams' demise in boxing. He won his second KO victory since his comeback on April 9th. He defeated Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian, in a 1-round KO. Williams was defeated by TKO against Manuel Charr on June 25. After a barrage from Williams was resurgent in round 7, the match was abruptly suspended in round 7. The referee seemed to have ended the war in Charr's favour as soon as it seemed that he was in danger. Cole then won a SD against Alfred Cole in Sweden on September 3rd, marking his return from the sport after two years.

In October 2011, Williams was supposed to fight unbeaten Alexander Ustinov, but he was forced to cancel due to a viral infection. On Friday, Williams defeated Norwegian heavyweight boxer Leif Olve Dolonen Larsen in Pabellon Municipal, Silla, Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain. Williams was dropped several times by the former NFL quarterback, and the match was called off in the second round. Williams declared his retirement soon afterwards, but a return to boxing was scheduled against 0-3 middleweight Marvin Meyer, triggering several hoax stories that said Williams was going back to middleweight. This match never happened, and neither did a match against Zoltan Petranyi for the Universal Boxing Organization (UBO) European title, which was called off on the day of the match after Williams was cut while he fell over in the shower. On fight night, the two fighters appeared to apologize to the audience for the incident. A second rescheduling of the game, which had already been postponed due to Williams' "personal issues," was promised, but the match has yet to be announced.

Williams lost two titles in September 2012, being kicked out of Finland by Janne Katajisto for the obscure Baltic Boxing Union belt and then defeated in the 4th round against Christian Hammer in a WBO European heavyweight championship match. Williams refused to take a drug test after the war, saying that there was no point in retiring and that he was shot.

Williams called out Mark Potter for a rematch of their famous match in 2000, just days after announcing yet another retirement, despite having a dislocated shoulder. Potter said he was super keen on the war. Potter's BBBofC card was confiscated after suffering a detached retina, while the BBBofC has already stated their reservations against licensing Williams. Williams later said he was ordered to call out Potter on camera and that he wasn't serious.

Williams' retirement was short lived once more as he met Denis Bakhtyv in Podolsk, Russia, on December 8, 2012, losing by a unanimous decision over ten rounds. He returned to fight Werner Kreiskott in a points decision just 13 days later losing by 8 rounds. In March 2013, he was barred from round 2 by cruiserweight Mairis Briedis in Riga, Latvia. This was unannounced because it was an exhibition. Danny lost in Russia on May 18, 2013 after losing a contentious decision. In an unlicensed brawl in London, England, he defeated Negus in the fourth round, bringing a farewell to his fans.

Williams claimed the lightly regarded World Boxing Federation (GBF) World Heavyweight Championship (GBF) in Hungary on April 28, 2018 when he defeated Czech journeyman Martin Stensky.

Williams lost a WBU heavyweight championship in Aberdeen, England, against former lightweight Lee McAllister, who was banned by the British & Irish Boxing Authority. BoxRec was unaware of this conflict. Williams has declared his retirement from this sport once more.

Source