Having strongly hinted at retirement, Danny Williams has said that he will continue his boxing career.
Williams regained his title by beating Scott Gammer on Friday but he is now apparently looking for a fight with Vladimir Virchis, who currently is the European Heavyweight Champion.
Danny Williams said:
“I have had so much positive feedback from people who said I showed glimpses of world class,”
“My main goal is to get back to the top. I believe I can still compete with champions like Oleg Maskaev.”
So can Danny Williams get himself a world title?
He has fought for a world title before in 2004, but he was stopped in round eight by Vitali Klitschko, who showed the world that Danny Williams beating a old Mike Tyson did not mean he could fight on the world class level. Actually neither fighter looked very good in that fight, and it reminded me of a pub brawl rather than a boxing bout.
If Williams had lost to Gammer then that would have been it, all over for Danny Williams. Beating Gammer has given British boxing fans a ray of hope, but he will have to beat better opposition to make a strong comeback to the world boxing ranks.
“I know there is a lot to work on but I went into this fight off two losses so my confidence couldn’t have been that good,” he said.
“Once I have got that back I believe my next performance will be 250% better.”
Williams has said that he will not be tempted to become sucked into in the seemingly endless battle for domestic supremacy within the UK, and has ruled out a third meeting with Audley Harrison. This is a wise move, especially at this stage in his career, Williams needs to look to better fighters than Audley Harrison of he is to get a shot at a world title.
“I definitely do not want to get back involved in all that although I would fight Matt Skelton again if it could get me the Commonwealth title,” he said.
“Now I only want to fight people who can give me something, not the other way round.”
“I’ve been down so many times and I know what it takes to get back to the top,” said Williams.
“I’ve fought on undercards and I am happy to do it again if that is what it takes to get me back to the top.”
So what do you think? Can Danny Williams get back to the top?
In my opinion he still has a lot to prove. Beating Gammer is not enough, as let’s face it, Gammer is hardly part of the boxing elite. Danny Williams needs to get this European title if he can, then fight and beat another prominent heavyweight, and then perhaps he could have a shot at the world title. However with Skelton and Sprott both also scrapping for world title shots, Williams will have to show that he is as good, if not a better challenger.
