When heavily decorated amateur standout, Tramaine “The Mighty Midge” Williams (16-0, 6 KOs) started his professional boxing career at nineteen-years-old, he appeared to be on the fast track to stardom but after two trips to jail and seven years later, his boxing career has failed to reach the lofty exceptions that he imagined. Nevertheless, Williams is extremely determined this year, more than ever before, to turn his once-promising boxing career around in the right direction.
Early on in Williams’ career, it was easy to see why there was a great deal of hype surrounding him. He had an extremely impressive amateur career (97-10) which included defeats over several undefeated, up-and-coming professional fighters such as Julian Rodriguez (16-0, 10 KOs) and Kendo Castaneda (16-0, 7 KOs). He was a ten-time amateur national champion, two-time Ringside world titleholder, and a four-time National Silver Gloves champion. Williams was signed by Top Rank, one of the most powerful boxing promotional companies in the sport, and he won his first eight bouts (1 no contest), all in convincing fashion.
Everything changed, however, on January 23, 2014, two days before a scheduled fight at Madison Square Garden, when he got arrested and later charged with possession of an assault weapon (Tec-9 semi-automatic pistol) and narcotics. Top Rank dropped him. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison but served a year.
After he got released from prison, it appeared that Williams had gotten his life – inside and out of the boxing ring – back on track. He obtained his G.E.D. while he was in prison, moved out of his hometown of New Haven, Connecticut to East Haven, Connecticut, and hung around with a better selection of friends. After being out of the ring for almost two years, Williams picked up right where he left off. He scored a dominating sixth-round technical knockout over Josh Bowles. Shortly thereafter, he was signed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Williams won his next six bouts against solid competition and climbed to number three in the WBO divisional rankings.
Just as he was closing in on a world title shot, his career got derailed again. He was arrested for violating his probation for missing a couple of meetings. He was given eighteen months in prison but served six months. Currently, Williams has two months left on his probationary period.
Now in his third and maybe his last opportunity to revive his boxing career, Williams will try to follow the advice that was given in the 1993 movie, A Bronx Tale, when a father tells his son, “The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.”
“This is a quotation that I reflect upon on a daily basis because it is directed at me,” said Williams. “Up until this point in my life, I have wasted my boxing talent by getting into trouble with the law on numerous occasions, and I have paid for the consequences of my actions. I realize that I need to make better choices outside of the ring, in order to maximize my boxing ability inside the ring.”
Unlike Top Rank, Roc Nation did not give up on their undefeated featherweight contender. Even when Williams got arrested for the second time and did not fight for close to a year, they still believed that he would turn his career around.
“I owe a great deal of gratitude to Roc Nation because they stuck with me even when I got arrested again,” said Williams. “They gave my boxing career another opportunity to succeed, and I will do everything I possibly can to stay out of trouble.”
Williams ended a year layoff after being released from jail for the second time and scored a dominating first-round technical knockout victory over former two-time world title challenger, Jose Alfredo Rodriguez in February of this year. Williams landed a powerful left hook that knocked out Rodriguez and ended the bout at one minute, nineteen seconds.
“I like everything about my last fight, although it ended too quickly,” said Williams. “I was surprised because I thought it would have last longer, especially since I was coming off a long layoff.”
He will be back in the ring on April 12th in Hampton, New Hampshire as he looks to stay undefeated against battle-tested Ernesto “Monito” Guerrero (31-26, 21 KOs) in an eight-round bout.
“I have felt really good in training camp, probably the best I have felt in a long time,” said Williams. “Guerrero is a durable opponent who has fought a lot of good competition but he will be no match for me. I will dominate this bout.”
Despite all the trials and tribulations that Williams has endured throughout his life, he is still a force to be reckoned with in the featherweight division. He is a young fighter at twenty-six-years-old. Williams has incredibly fast hands, impenetrable defense, and an uncanny ability to quickly think and adapt in the ring.
Moreover, he gained invaluable experience sparring with a number of world title challengers and world champions, including one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Lomachenko, and he held his own in these sparring sessions.
Roc Nation has Williams on the fast track for a world title shot in either the 122-pound or 126-pound division by the end of the year. In the meantime, they want to keep him busy with a fight every two to three months.
“Though all the ups and downs that I have dealt with over the last couple of years, the one thing that has remained consistent is me winning,” said Williams.
“Not only have I won but I have looked good in each of my victories, and I have done it against good competition, despite my long layoffs and being in-and-out of jail over the last couple of years.”
Williams trains tirelessly at perfecting his boxing skills at his head trainer’s gym, Mike Conroy’s American Martial Arts, along with his strength and conditioning coach, Tina Murray, both of whom have been in his corner for the past two and a half years. Previously, he trained with Brian Clark, who was with him since he started boxing at nine but they have since parted ways. Clark also trained former two-time light heavyweight world champion, Chad Dawson, and both of them mentored Williams as he grew up.
For more information on Williams and the latest updates on his upcoming fight, friend him on Facebook.com/MightyMidgetWilliams and add him on Twitter and Instagram @Tramaine_Midget.
“As a child, I had a chip on my shoulder which made me fight harder than everyone else because I believed that if I continued to work hard and win in boxing than my mom and dad would come home, although they never did,” said Williams.
[He was raised by his grandmother, Mary Williams – passed away in 2015 – who took care of him and his four siblings. He did not know his dad and his mom was constantly in-and-out of jail.] “This chip on my shoulder is what has gotten me through the difficult times in my life and it is what will lead me a world title in the foreseeable future.”