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Williams claims he fought Klitschko with one arm
Williams fought Klitschko with one arm
source: secoundsout.com
By Anthony Evans and pic by Mr Will/Hogan
Knocked down and nearly out in the first round, sliced open above the eye in the second, dropped in the third, set sprawling in the seventh and rocked and badly hurt in almost every minute before finally getting clubbed to defeat in the eighth, Danny Williams's courage and will to win was universally praised in the aftermath of his WBC heavyweight title challenger to Vitali Klitschko last month.
Now comes the revelation that the Londoner fought from the second round onwards with a serious, potentially career-threatening injury to his right shoulder.
The London-born 'Legend Killer' is currently awaiting the results of a MRI scan on his right arm and there are concerns Williams will require a second operation on the ligaments originally ripped apart during the 2000 fight with Mark Potter.
Williams had kept this re-injury secret because he didn't want to appear to be making excuses for his disappointingly non-competitive challenge to Klitschko. However, Williams told SecondsOut: "I felt something was wrong in the second round of the fight and the pain got worse as the fight went on. What happened was I missed a massive right hand, over-extended, and felt something go. It was really painful to move it and with getting knocked down and hurt so bad in the first round and cut for the first time in my life in the second round not a great deal went my way in the fight.
"I'm not sure if the arm completely popped out like it did against Mark Potter, but it was extremely painful and I couldn't generate any power. That's why I kept on walking forward trying to land one big left hook - that was the only shot I could hurt him with.
"I let it (that things weren't going to plan) get to me and just wanted to load up with one left hook to take him out and even when I was stopped I was still trying to do that. I kept trying to take it to him because the fight was for the heavyweight championship of the world and that means everything to me. But it wasn't my night."
The former British & Commonwealth Champion is mortified at the thought of the boxing public interpreting this news as an excuse for losing so badly.
"I lost the fight," he said. "I don't blame anyone or anything for what happened other than I didn't do what I was supposed to. It is the hurt business, this sport, and you can't complain when you get hurt in there. It was my decision to try that big right hand and load up so much. No one made me do that."
After returning to England on December 14, Williams sought the advice of St Mary's hospital surgeon operated on his shoulder after the Potter fight. He was then sent to a team of consultants at Milton Keynes and is now awaiting the results of the MRI scan.
He said: "The results will be known on January 5 and we'll know then how serious it is. I'm a little worried that the pain hasn't gone away yet - other than my shoulder I am completely healed up and ready to start training."
Despite his impressive KO wins over Kali Meehan and, of course, Mike Tyson, Londoner Williams took such a one-sided drumming from the Kiev colossus that even his own promoter, Frank Warren, initially advised him to retire.
Now, though, and independent of any official talk between promoters or HBO TV people, there is quite a buzz about Williams challenging WBO title-holder Lamon Brewster, a similarly lion-hearted heavyweight, in what would be an-out war. [ that's assuming that Brew beats Golota ]
But first Williams awaits those crucial MRI results.
source: secoundsout.com
By Anthony Evans and pic by Mr Will/Hogan
Knocked down and nearly out in the first round, sliced open above the eye in the second, dropped in the third, set sprawling in the seventh and rocked and badly hurt in almost every minute before finally getting clubbed to defeat in the eighth, Danny Williams's courage and will to win was universally praised in the aftermath of his WBC heavyweight title challenger to Vitali Klitschko last month.
Now comes the revelation that the Londoner fought from the second round onwards with a serious, potentially career-threatening injury to his right shoulder.
The London-born 'Legend Killer' is currently awaiting the results of a MRI scan on his right arm and there are concerns Williams will require a second operation on the ligaments originally ripped apart during the 2000 fight with Mark Potter.
Williams had kept this re-injury secret because he didn't want to appear to be making excuses for his disappointingly non-competitive challenge to Klitschko. However, Williams told SecondsOut: "I felt something was wrong in the second round of the fight and the pain got worse as the fight went on. What happened was I missed a massive right hand, over-extended, and felt something go. It was really painful to move it and with getting knocked down and hurt so bad in the first round and cut for the first time in my life in the second round not a great deal went my way in the fight.
"I'm not sure if the arm completely popped out like it did against Mark Potter, but it was extremely painful and I couldn't generate any power. That's why I kept on walking forward trying to land one big left hook - that was the only shot I could hurt him with.
"I let it (that things weren't going to plan) get to me and just wanted to load up with one left hook to take him out and even when I was stopped I was still trying to do that. I kept trying to take it to him because the fight was for the heavyweight championship of the world and that means everything to me. But it wasn't my night."
The former British & Commonwealth Champion is mortified at the thought of the boxing public interpreting this news as an excuse for losing so badly.
"I lost the fight," he said. "I don't blame anyone or anything for what happened other than I didn't do what I was supposed to. It is the hurt business, this sport, and you can't complain when you get hurt in there. It was my decision to try that big right hand and load up so much. No one made me do that."
After returning to England on December 14, Williams sought the advice of St Mary's hospital surgeon operated on his shoulder after the Potter fight. He was then sent to a team of consultants at Milton Keynes and is now awaiting the results of the MRI scan.
He said: "The results will be known on January 5 and we'll know then how serious it is. I'm a little worried that the pain hasn't gone away yet - other than my shoulder I am completely healed up and ready to start training."
Despite his impressive KO wins over Kali Meehan and, of course, Mike Tyson, Londoner Williams took such a one-sided drumming from the Kiev colossus that even his own promoter, Frank Warren, initially advised him to retire.
Now, though, and independent of any official talk between promoters or HBO TV people, there is quite a buzz about Williams challenging WBO title-holder Lamon Brewster, a similarly lion-hearted heavyweight, in what would be an-out war.
[ that's assuming that Brew beats Golota ]But first Williams awaits those crucial MRI results.
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