August 29th, 2008 – Just as you would expect from two undefeated fighters, neither Phil “The Drill” Williams or Marcus Oliveira were going to relinquish their unblemished records without a fight and it was all that and more. Fans at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota were treated to an exciting match-up from start to finish as Marcus Oliveira (14-0-1 with 11 KOs) got up from the canvas twice before stopping Phil Williams (8-1- with 8 KOs) in the 7th round of their scheduled eight round bout Friday night..
The initial “feeling out” became a battle of jabs to establish tempo and territory, but Oliveira’s seemed to hit it’s mark a bit more frequently and forcefully as he walked Williams down throughout the round. By the end of the second round Oliveira had established both his power and presence and consistently backed Williams around the ring. Although round three started out much the same, with Oliveira gaining more momentum, three-quarters of the way into the third round Williams landed a double jab, right hand combination that deposited Oliveira on the seat of his trunks. It looked to many in the crowd that Williams’ perfect knockout record was going to remain intact as they went crazy for their hometown hero. However, Oliveira was easily up by the count of seven and seemed to be unfazed as he went right back to work behind a jab and meaningful combination punching that prevented Williams from turning the tide of the fight in his direction. Aside from an early burst of energy from Williams, who sensed he may have Oliveira in trouble, the fourth round looked much like the previous four minutes of action with Oliveira stalking Williams around the ring, landing clean and landing often. He pressed the action and took the fight to Williams the next two rounds. Oliveira had seemed to take solid control of round five and six as he traded jabs with Williams around the ring and unloaded heavy blows each time he backed Williams into the corner or against the ropes. Then, early in that round, lightning struck for the second time when Williams came over the top of Oliveira’s jab and landed a right hand and left hook that sent Oliveira down and through the bottom two ropes. But again, Oliveira easily rose to his feet and was up by the count of seven. The knockdown appeared to spur Oliveira on even more as he traded with Williams to end the round strong. Oliveira then turned up the heat even more in the seventh round and began landing harder blows, more often and with a clear intent to end the fight. Just over a minute into the round, Oliveira backed Williams into his corner and lowered the boom. He landed a series of punches punctuated by a right uppercut that knocked Williams mouthpiece out, followed by a right hand that set the Minnesota fighter down. As soon as Williams was on his feet, Oliveira took it to him with a right hand, left hook, right hand combination that dropped Williams again. This time he went down in a neutral corner where he stayed as the referee counted to ten at 2:56 of the seventh round.
Phil Williams proved to be a valiant warrior with impressive power in both hands. He was undefeated and a fan favorite and was recognized as many as one of boxing’s top rising prospects. He held a highly touted 100% knockout ratio and had what many insiders thought was the upperhand going into this fight and yet when the final punch was thrown it was Oliveira’s heart and fierce will to win that decided the outcome. No judges, no excuses…just good toe-to-toe action with two fighters who were willing to lay it all on the line and one who walked away UNDEFEATED!
