03.10.05 – By Andy Meacock: The fights we often look most forward to in boxing are between the big names in the sport. This is natural of course, afterall we all want to see the best fights for our hard earned money but sometimes there’s nothing better than a good old domestic punch up. Such a fight is likely to take place on December 3rd between British heavyweight champion Matt Skelton and former world title challenger Danny Williams..
This is not the first time that this fight should have taken place however. Promoter Frank Warren originally set this fight up for the 16th July this year. This fight was intended to headline a Frank Warren card and mark Warren’s return to promoting fights on domestic television in the UK, via the ITV station. Warren was understandably upset when Danny Williams backed out of the fight less than 24hrs before it was due to take place.
Danny Williams claimed he was pulling out of the bout due to some form of flu virus that he had been experiencing the week before. If this was in fact true then it’s perfectly understandable for him to cancel what is a crossroads fight for him. Being a true sceptic however I have doubts to the legitimacy to Williams’ excuse. It’s common knowledge that Williams had weighed in the day before and looked in very poor condition, over his normal fighting weight. Only Williams and his close circle know the truth but either way he was wrong to cancel on such notice.
Luckily for us we will get to see the fight, FINALLY!
Now from the odds I’ve been reading it seems that Danny Williams is the slight favourite leading into the fight. Almost any British fight fan will tell you that watching Williams’ career has been frustrating. Williams is a genuinely talented fighter. He has a set of skills that is rare in the abysmal heavyweight division we have right now. I wasn’t very surprised that Williams took the beating that he did from Vitali Klitschko, it was a bad fight on paper in my opinion. Klitschko is the real champion at heavyweight in my view, no shame in losing to a guy like that. I happen to believe that a focused, in shape Danny Williams would be very competitive in fights with other titleholders like Lamon Brewster, John Ruiz or Chris Byrd.
Matt Skelton’s boxing resume is not as extensive and he hasn’t fought against opponents as intimidating as Mike Tyson or Vitali Klitschko. That’s not to say that Skelton is green however. A fact that is not known to a lot of people is that Matt Skelton has been fighting in events for years as a kickboxer in K1 and mixed martial arts. His record in K1 is very impressive, so that idea that Williams hasn’t been through tough times in the ring is wrong to me. It’s true that boxing and kickboxing are different sports, different dangers but adversity can be experienced in both sports.
In my mind there is no doubt that Williams is technically the better boxer than Skelton. Without wishing to sound harsh I’d point out that Skelton’s style isn’t the prettiest. Skelton likes to get right in his opponents face and tends to maul them, often winning in the mid to late rounds having worn his opponents down. It’s his quantity rather than his quality that wins fights for Skelton.
So can Williams keep Skelton way from him and enforce his own game in this fight?
Being honest, I’d have to go with Matt Skelton in this fight by either a points victory or a late stoppage. My biggest problem with Danny Williams is his mind and his attitude. People have sometimes claimed that Williams has a weak heart. I think that’s very wrong. You only need to watch his early struggles in the Tyson fight or the prolonged beating he took by Klitschko to see that Williams is not weak hearted.
My problem is that I think Williams has a weak mind and questionable motivation.
I happen to think that Williams gave a good account of himself in both the Tyson and Klitschko fights, irregardless of the outcome. He seemed like a man with nothing to lose in those fights, no pressure and he was expected to lose both. I think that lack of pressure actually is the best thing for a man with Williams’ mind.
Williams must be aware that he is the favoured fighter and I believe that this pressure will work to the advantage of Skelton. The best way I can put this is that I think Williams ISN’T afraid of Skelton but IS afraid of losing to Skelton. That’s what I deeply believe will lead to an upset victory for Skelton, probably by points. I reserve the right to change my judgement nearer the fight when I see what they both look like but I can’t I just don’t see Skelton losing this one.
Roll on December 3rd. Being greedy it’d be nice to see Ricky Hatton v Junior Witter and Alex Arthur v Scott Harrison on the undercard. Talk about wishful thinking!
If you have any views on this upcoming fight or this article then please leave them in the section just below…