Boxing Betting / Ralph Ellis / 17 September 2009 / Leave a comment

British Heavyweight Champion Danny Williams has put his title on the line for the Prizefighter night at London's ExCel on October 2. Betfair went to see him to find out why . . .

"The Vitali Klitschko fight and the Tyson fight got me really excited, but the Prizefighter night is right up there with them."

Hi Danny, so how's your training been going?

It's been excellent, I've been doing some springs to get my heart rate going really high, so I can get used to the fast pace of the tournament, I can't wait to get in there.

Talk us through a typical day then.

I go to the gym around 9am to start, and do explosive bag work that's one minute power punching, and then rest for ten or 15 seconds then go again, then back and have a rest and some lunch, then it's sprint work, three minutes pushing myself, then rest a minute, then pushing myself again for three minutes. I'm training twice a day and taking myself to the limits.

Do you enjoy training?

I don't know if I enjoy it, but it's something that has to be done, so I just basically get on with it.

We can hear in your voice how much you're excited about Prizefighter. What's got you so keen?

You know it's something different. I've been boxing for as a pro for 14 years, and been boxing all together for 27 years, and I've had the Vitali Klitschko fight and the Tyson fight, and those got me really excited, but this night is right up there with them. I think because it's different, it's only three rounds and you can lose to anyone. Also I've got the opportunity to fight Audley Harrison and that's got me really buzzing.

Isn't it a big risk for you putting your British title at stake?

Yeah, a massive risk, and that's another thing that probably adds to the excitement of it. In any fight I can lose my title

That's brave isn't it? It struck us of the eight guys you are the only one with something to lose. What's the upside for you?

Never mind what I could lose, I look at it at what I can gain, and what I have to gain is I just want to get Audley Harrison. I'm willing to risk my title to get him, seriously man. When we fought the first time I beat him on points, but then the next time I had only eight days notice and he beat me in three rounds. I want to prove that was the reason, I just wasn't properly prepared for that fight, and I'm willing to risk my title to show that.

That fight did a lot of damage to your career, is that fair?

Definitely, because Audley is a fighter who is not loved by the public. Many people don't respect him, people see him as a celebrity boxer and he's just basically a businessman, so for me to lose to a man like that in such a devastating fashion totally destroyed me, and the respect I'd built up all the years. My next fight after the Audley Harrison I won the British title against Scott Gammer who was undefeated until then, and I've won every time I've been in the ring since, so I've been rebuilding myself.

If all goes well then what comes next?

After I prove myself on this night I want a shot at the European title, and I definitely believe I can get that if I win Prizefighter. It will prove what I'm about. You know I grew up loving guys like Rocky Marciano and Evander Holyfield. They were guys who were warriors, and this is a night for a warrior. You may have a hard first fight but you've got to go back in again and go for the next one. You've got to be aware of that.

You mentioned your fight with Tyson. How do you look back on that now, more than five years later?

People might not believe this, but to be honest I just can't believe that I fought Mike Tyson. I watch the tapes and I can't believe I'd been in with a man I admired for so many years. I just can't believe I fought him and beat him. It's crazy, when the fight was announced I had no respect and he meant nothing to me. That's how I got prepared for it, now it's like a dream that I went that far.

What about your thoughts on the Klitschko fight then. You took a battering but refused to go down for so long.

Yeah I'm proud of that. I know I lost but like I say I grew up watching people like Holyfield and Marciano and I've always wanted to be admired for my heart ,and I thank god that I've got some of that heart. Even when I first won the British title, and I dislocated my shoulder and still kept boxing on with that. It's the eye of the Tiger, you know, it's what people want to see. It's why this Prizefighter night has caught people's imagination.

It certainly has. How do you feel about the state of the sport at the moment?

It's dying, but not because people are losing interest, it's because there aren't that many good fighters. You go back to the '80s and look at Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, these were great personalities, and who have we got round today? No-one with that charisma that those guys had. I just think we haven't got enough of those kind of fighters, and that's where you hope nights like this might encourage some of them to come through

There won't be more from your family though! It's well known your dad forced you to box when you were aged eight. Bet you're glad you've got daughters?

(Laughs) Yeah definitely man - but I'm still hoping to make my dad's dreams come true, and get bigger and better titles. Let's hope this one is the start to get that coming again.

Tags: Boxing betting, Danny Williams, Mike Tyson, Prizefighter, Ralph Ellis, The Betfair Big interview, Vitali Klitschko