by James Slater — Two British heavyweights collide on July 18th in a fight that will contest the British championship. Danny Williams, the holder, will meet John McDermott in London and an intriguing fight is expected. Now, however, according to a news story on The Sporting Life’s website, the fight will have even bigger significance..
According to the recent article, the winner of Williams and McDermott may well face WBC heavyweight champ Samuel Peter later this year. Representatives of the Peter camp are expected to be in attendance for the British heavyweight showdown later this month, and the WBC champ’s promoter, Dino Duva, has already held talks with the British champ’s promoter, Frank Maloney, about a possible fight this autumn (fall).
“We were close to making a fight between Danny and [Sam] Peter for this month, but T.V schedules didn’t work out, Maloney said. “Danny’s defence against John [McDermott] is now virtually a world title eliminator and a big punch could land one of them the jackpot.”
Maloney obviously hopes his name fighter will be the man who lands that big punch.
“Danny has been revitalised in his last four fights, and is still known in America for his amazing win over Tyson and his incredible bravery against Vitali Klitschko,” Maloney added.
So apparently, even though it had been reported that Peter would likely go straight ahead and box “Champion Emeritus” Vitali Klitschko next, without having a tune-up, this may not be the case now. At least according to this news article. Maloney is certainly correct when he says his fighter has been revitalised. Williams has indeed put together a decent run since his TKO loss at the hands of former victim Audley Harrison.
Weighing in at a light 228 pounds, Danny stopped Scott Gammer in nine rounds to reclaim the British title, he then put the pounds back on but nonetheless boxed well against Oleg Platov until the bout was stopped and declared a No-Contest, and most recently, Danny boxed a points winning six-rounder against Marcus McGee and then became the first man to beat the big-punching Konstantin Airich in a wild affair this past May. Now the 34-year-old faces the six years younger McDermott.
Weighing in at a hefty 250 or so pounds, “Big Bad John” is not exactly a fighter who sports a chiselled physique. But looks can be deceiving, and the man with the 25-3(16) record is a good operator. Possessing fast hands and good stamina, McDermott will be no pushover for “The Brixton Bomber.” Currently 39-6(31) Williams is a fighter known for being notoriously unreliable. He can box a great fight in one bout, only to look very poor in his very next encounter.
With the added incentive of a possible world title shot for the winner (a second shot in Danny’s case), motivation will surely see to it that “the good Danny Williams” steps into the ring on July 18th. Look for McDermott to have his moments and certainly win a number of rounds – before either being stopped late or losing a close points verdict.