By Don Caputo

With the debilitating weight of national expectation burrowing down on his massive shoulders, we witnessed ‘Brixton Bomber’ Danny Williams cruelly and unmercifully exposed by current WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko over eight shockingly one-sided rounds last December. By the evenings end, not only had the Briton failed in his optimistic bid to dethrone the man they call ‘Dr. Iron Fist,’ he was forced to endure a wave of genuine concern for his physical health and, almost inevitably, heartfelt calls for him to hang ‘em’ up.

As early as the opening round when he was ominously floored by a Klitschko left (his perceived weaker hand) and only barely managed to regain his feat at the count of nine, it became apparent to everyone watching that the biggest fight of his pugilistic life was quickly mutating into possibly his worst. It was only Williams’ bulging heart and formidable desire to succeed that permitted him to last as long as he subsequently did, and while he earned adulation and respect for the bravery that he displayed, it was, nonetheless, one of the less-competitive heavyweight-title fights in recent memory – and one of the most painful to watch!

He absorbed an inordinate amount of punishment against a higher class of athlete in Klitschko. The champion's long and heavy blows thudded against his shaven skull with a sickening consistency until his amiable features became almost completely undistinguishable behind a suffusion of bruises, cuts and welts. His brutalized face, even days and weeks later, resembled that of a high-speed car accident survivor. A comparison that is somewhat ironic since, on the night, his engine never moved out of first gear. He was, to put it generously, valiantly outclassed.

To those who have followed Williams’ career from day one, he has always been something of an enigma. A fighter blessed with supreme talent, but whose idiosyncrasies have prevented him from becoming the world class competitor that he perhaps should have been. Indeed, his name will forever be synonymous with underachiever. By all accounts he is a world beater in the gym, yet for whatever reason is rarely able to translate any of what he supposedly shows behind doors into a spectacular performance when television cameras are in the proximity. When the stakes are high and the pressure is on, Williams has a propensity to freeze up.

Williams himself attributes his erratic showings to fight night nerves. He says that he puts too much pressure on himself when he gets into the ring, predominately because in the past (at British and European level) he was always expected to win and to look good doing so. Those expectations, he claims, are what so often got to him.

It wasn’t until he found himself in the role of overwhelming underdog against the returning Mike Tyson last July, that Williams apparently far more at ease with no one around him giving him a hope, emphatically broke out of his shell of apprehension. Williams fought with the fluidity and self-belief that we had longed to see from him. It is easy to forget however that – although irrefutably a sensational and stirring victory – the man he vanquished on that special night in Memphis was nothing more than a shell of the ‘Iron’ Mike of old trying his best to impersonate the wrecking machine who tore his way through the heavyweight division all those years ago.

So was 2004 a good or bad year for Williams? He probably reflects on it with a certain degree of ambivalence but ultimately it has to be said that, in terms of the global exposure he received and the recognition that comes with it, he is unquestionably more of a commodity now than he was twelve months ago.

One had the strong sense that his once promising career was beginning to stagnate and wither before being fortuitously chosen as a soft opponent for Tyson and then turning the apple cart on its head by scoring the stunning upset. He was, for a moment, the talk of the boxing world. Despite losing to Klitschko so categorically in his very next outing, he has retained some name value and will surely be able to cash in on it, at some point, in the form of another big fight.

First though, he must dispose of British Champion Matt Skelton (16-0 15KO’s) as the pair is set to lock horns for domestic supremacy this Saturday at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. Williams (33-4 28 KO’s), back after licking his multiple wounds, no doubt sees this opportunity to regain his old title, his status and a chance to once again return to prominence. Williams is confident of victory against the raw but deceptively strong Skelton.

“Everyone knows that Skelton is just a big rough brawler with no skill but he has a big heart,” declared Williams in a recent interview.

He concluded, “I'm a better and more skilful fighter than Skelton with even more heart and could beat him with my hands down but I am going to prove a point that he cannot rough me about and will fight him at his own game and knock him out.”

A long-time Kick Boxer, Skelton has only been boxing professionally for a short while and is still trying to find his feet in the sport. With a style that could be best described as rougher than sand paper, the former K-1 competitor attempts to make up for whatever technical deficiencies he may have by imposing his tremendous physical strength and will on his opponents. So far his maul and brawl tactics have been effective, but how will he fare when he squares off against the sometimes world class Williams?

I see this fight as a blow out for Williams; a steady flow of jabs, hooks and uppercuts are going to land early, often and throughout. Look for him to give Skelton a boxing lesson in the early rounds, before turning up the heat to score a stoppage around the midway point.

Also on the undercard, Olympic lightweight silver medallist Amir Khan makes his professional debut in a scheduled four-round contest against David Baily.