The Amazing Danny Williams

By Michael Amakor/ February 28, 2006

In a clear the deck showdown for supremacy in Britain, Former WBU International and British Heavyweight champion, Danny Williams, scored an impressive victory over previously undefeated Matt Skelton, to defend his Commonwealth Heavyweight Title at the Excel Arena in the UK, thereby improving his record to 35 wins, 4 losses with 28 knockouts.

Williams first shot into the limelight when he was selected from a motley list of perceived journey as cannon fodder for Mike Tyson, who was on the come back trail. However, Danny had bigger dreams, and shocked the world by throwing over 20 unanswered punches that knocked down living Legend Iron Mike Tyson to the canvas, encouraging his resolve to be counted out of the fight in the fourth round.

I must admit that I had never heard of him before the Tyson fight, and his destruction of my hero did not endear him to me one bit. I, like many others, was inclined to believe that if only Tyson had not blown out his knee, Williams would not have had that supposedly luck day and would have gone down to defeat, probably by knockout.

A victory over a name like Tyson, elevated Williams to challenge Vitali Klitchko for the WBA Heavyweight title. In that bout, Williams showed heart by getting up from 4 knockdowns, only to be stopped by Vitali in the eighth round. I was impressed since very few people went the distance with the dreaded "Dr Iron Fist" Klitschko, who had seemingly forced Lennox Lewis into retirement, which was an excellent fight, I thought, as I changed the channel.

Williams resurfaced on my radar almost a year later when he won a split decision over 2000 Olympic gold medalist southpaw Audley Harrison, once hailed by some experts along with Dominick Guinn and Joe Mesi, as the next championship prospects. I watched clips of the fight and by all accounts, Williams backed up a seemingly intimidated Harrison throughout that fight. But to me, that was another case of a rugged veteran showing out an over hyped fighter, so I let dogs lay low. Now, he has beaten Matt Skelton, and I am forced to do a double take; His victory over Matt Skelton is no small feat, and although Matt does not have an extensive boxing background. Skelton was, nevertheless, undefeated in 18 previous fights and anybody who watched him fight in the K1 circuit would be most weary of tangling with him. However, to my amazement, Danny went toe to toe with him to pull out another split decision and I am forced to ink my appreciation.

Boxing fans better watch out for developments across the pond because it would not surprise me if this guy later turns out to be champion of the world. Williams is blazing his legend in the fashion of Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis before him, who also cleared out the UK stable before ruling the world. Above all, Williams has a good shot at becoming champion with proper guidance, there is talk about a rematch against Matt Skelton, which could go either way and will only certainly uplift his appeal worldwide. I would dare say he stands a mighty chance against any of the current champions right now with the weakest link being Nikolay Valuev.

All hail Danny William – boxing king of Britain                           See Video