Before jetting off to Las Vegas for his much anticipated December 11th bout with Vitali Klitschko, Danny Williams took a quiet five minutes outside the ring to reflect on his first forays into boxing, life since ‘that fight’ with Mike Tyson and the boxers who have inspired him to become one of Britain’s brightest hopes for glory in the ring. Interviewed by Clubs For Young People, the charity that discovered and nurtured his talent for boxing, Williams showed a level-headed and disciplined attitude towards fame and success that could prove to be one of his greatest strengths when he steps into the ring next month.

Has life changed for you since the Tyson fight?

For some reason after Tyson people don’t expect to see me out and about doing my daily stuff – like I’m no longer supposed to take a bus or train … how do they expect me to get around?

CYP: What age did you start boxing and why?

I started boxing at 8 because my dad made me – he just said you got to do it and for years I didn’t really like it.  I went into it reluctantly, sometimes I’d even sneak off and go and play table tennis with my friends, but gradually I started to like it.

Can you remember your first boxing club and trainer?

My first boxing club was a CYP club in Brixton – it’s now closed which is a shame because clubs like that are where kids get their first taste of professional competition.  My first trainer was really great.  He always said to me that I had great talent but was too lazy – and I was lazy because I didn’t want to be there … I’d rather be eating chocolate biscuits and messing about with my mates. 

What would you say to any young person looking to going into boxing professionally?

I would say train hard, this sport is no joke and you have to give it your all – don’t be like me when I was young!

Who is your boxing hero?

I don’t really look at the modern fighters – boxers now don’t have much heart, they get paid too much – I like the older fighters. Picking just one is hard, but if I could pick two it would be Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali.  Ali because of his boxing ability and I like the way he talks and his cockiness and Marciano because he’s a true professional, trains hard and gives 100%.

The above interview with Danny Williams was recorded on October 05 2004.

Clubs for Young People

The Clubs for Young People (CYP) boxing programme has been the training ground for many well known British boxers including Amir Khan, Frank Bruno, Audley Harrison and Prince Naseem Hamed. 

CYP has provided boxing for young people from disaffected backgrounds for nearly 60 years and has over 400 clubs around the UK teaching boxing skills to as many as 20,000 young people. 

The annual CYP Senior Boxing Finals, which feature the best of the UK’s amateur boxers aged 17-18 years old, takes place in London on Wednesday 8th December 2004 (www.nacyp.org.uk/boxing) 

Clubs for Young People (previously known as Boys Clubs) is Britain's largest supplier of youth sports across the country with over 3,000 clubs and 400,000 young people participating.

For further information please call Helen Drake or Sara Milne,

CYP Press Office

Clareville Communications,

315-317 New Kings Road, London SW6 4RF

Tel:  020 7736 4022    Fax:  020 7736 3504

email:  HelenDrake@Clareville.co.uk