Carl Williams (boxer)
Carl Williams (November 11, 1959 – April 7, 2013), nicknamed "The Truth", was an American boxer from Belle Glade, Florida who was the USBA United States Heavyweight Boxing champion, and who fought in several noteworthy boxing matches in the 1980s and 1990s.
Carl Williams | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
Real name | Carl Williams | |||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | The Truth | |||||||||||||||||||
Weight(s) | Heavyweight | |||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
Reach | 216 cm (85 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||
Born | Belle Glade, Florida, United States | November 11, 1959|||||||||||||||||||
Died | April 7, 2013 53) | (aged|||||||||||||||||||
Stance | Orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||
Boxing record | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total fights | 41 | |||||||||||||||||||
Wins | 30 | |||||||||||||||||||
Wins by KO | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||
Losses | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
No contests | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Early years
—Williams on his choice of boxing.[1]
Williams spent his childhood in South Jamaica, Queens. He was raised by his grandmother. After his grandmother died, Williams began to box at the age of nineteen, training with the Daniel M. O'Connell Park Gym in Saint Albans, New York (also known as the New York City Recreations O'Connell Center,) walking six miles to his gym and back each day, and showing a natural talent and determination.[2] "He's a natural, no question about that," said his trainer, Vic Hanson.[1]
Amateur career
With a couple of amateur fights under his belt Williams won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Williams won both the 1980 New York Golden Gloves Sub-Novice Heavyweight Championship and the 1981 Heavyweight Open Championship.
Highlights
- Williams stopped (RSC 2) John Kibelka of the New York City Recreation in the finals of the 1980 Sub-Novice Heavyweight Championship.
- Three knockouts and one decision propelled Williams into the 1981 Golden Gloves.[3] In 1981 Williams stopped (RSC-2) Ronald Turner of the 25th Precinct in the heavyweight finals of the 55th New York Golden Gloves at 2:08.[3][4]
- Williams won the heavyweight Intercity Golden Gloves over Craig Bodzianowski of Chicago, April 27, 1981 at the Madison Square Garden.[5] "punching like a cruise missile," in words of sports writer Tom Hanrahan[6]
At that time he wanted to fight the '81 open champ, Mitch Green from Bronx, who has since turned pro.[3]
His other notable achievements include:
- 1/2: Defeated Patrick Fennel (Canada) RSC 3 (the fight was halted after a physician examined a cut over Fennell's eye and ruled he was too badly hurt to continue[8])
- Finals: Defeated Roberto Gomez (Cuba)
- 1/2: Defeated Nam Hee Kim (South Korea) KO 1
- Finals: Defeated Alexander Yagubkin (Soviet Union) by unanimous decision, 5–0
Williams finished his amateur career with 22 fights, completing a record of 21–1.[9]
Professional career
Williams soon turned pro, signing a contract with Ron Katz of the Top Rank. After the initial successes he moved to a suburban motel in White Plains, New York, in order to concentrate on training, and stay away from big-city temptations. He was trained by Carmen Graziano.[10][11]
Williams' first title shot was against Larry Holmes, a fight he lost in a controversial decision. His next fight was a victory against Jesse Ferguson. He then suffered a devastating knockout loss to Mike Weaver, which took him sixteen months to regain his shape and get back to the ring.
Williams is perhaps best known for having fought and lost to Mike Tyson (whom he first faced in sparring sessions, August 1, 1983, six years before the title fight, while Tyson was a 17-years-old amateur and Williams was 23 years old with a professional record 11-0)[12] in a battle for the undisputed heavyweight championship. The first round knockout loss to Tyson in 1989 was a devastating defeat for Williams. Midway through the round, Tyson slipped a jab from Williams and loaded up with one of the most devastating counter-punches of his career, smashing Williams and sending him down for an eight count. The referee waved off the fight and Williams immediately launched a mild protest to the official and ringside judges but to no avail. He believed that the fight was stopped too early and he was not given more of an opportunity to demonstrate to the official that he was not disoriented after the knock-down. In a post fight in-ring interview, Williams appeared to be uninjured, spoke clearly, and expressed his disappointment that he was not given the opportunity to "show my stuff." Williams also called for a rematch, however this never occurred.
After the defeat by Tyson, Williams became a journeyman heavyweight. His other notable fights include losses to Larry Holmes, Tim Witherspoon, Tommy Morrison, and Frank Bruno, and wins against Bert Cooper and Trevor Berbick.
Williams retired in 1997 with a professional record of 30-10-0-1 with 21 knockouts.
After retirement
Williams worked for Allied-SpectaGuard in New York City at the World Trade Center as a security agent and field supervisor. After the September 11 attacks, Williams worked for Verizon in Queens, New York, as a security guard. Later he worked for Forte Security Group in New York City, as a security guard at the Copacabana and Marquee nightclubs until he became ill.
Death
Williams died on April 7, 2013, of esophageal cancer. He was survived by a daughter, Carla, and a son, Daniel. He was predeceased by his 12-year-old daughter Nijah, who died of leukemia.[13]
References in popular culture
Williams was the inspiration for a parody character on the Fox program In Living Color, Carl "The Tooth" Williams, portrayed by Jamie Foxx, a boxer so named because he only had one tooth. Williams would live his everyday life in his boxing apparel, making all appearances while singing the opening line to "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang."
Professional boxing record
30 Wins (21 knockouts, 9 decisions), 10 Losses (6 knockouts, 4 decisions), 1 No Contest | |||||||
Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
Loss | 30–10 (1) | TKO | 7 | 30 Oct 1997 | |||
Win | 30–9 (1) | UD | 10 | 13 Jun 1997 | |||
Win | 29–9 (1) | PTS | 8 | 27 Nov 1996 | |||
Win | 28–9 (1) | TKO | 2 | 2 Aug 1996 | |||
Win | 27–9 (1) | DQ | 3 | 31 May 1996 | |||
Loss | 26–9 (1) | PTS | 10 | 17 Mar 1995 | |||
Loss | 26–8 (1) | TKO | 7 | 22 Jul 1994 | Referee stopped the bout at 2:55 of the seventh round. | ||
Loss | 26–7 (1) | TKO | 10 | 24 Apr 1993 | |||
Loss | 26–6 (1) | TKO | 8 | 16 Jan 1993 | Referee stopped the bout at 2:10 of the eighth round. | ||
Win | 26–5 (1) | TKO | 3 | 3 Nov 1992 | |||
Win | 25–5 (1) | UD | 10 | 20 Aug 1992 | 99–91, 97–94, 98–92 | ||
Loss | 24–5 (1) | UD | 10 | 22 Mar 1992 | |||
Win | 24–4 (1) | TKO | 2 | 12 Jan 1992 | Referee stopped the bout at 2:37 of the second round. | ||
NC | 23–4 (1) | NC | 10 | 15 Oct 1991 | Originally a UD win for Williams, later ruled an NC for unknown reasons. | ||
Loss | 23–4 | SD | 12 | 8 Mar 1991 | USBA Heavyweight Title. 113–115, 113–115, 116–112 | ||
Win | 23–3 | TKO | 5 | 24 Jul 1990 | USBA Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:00 of the fifth round. | ||
Loss | 22–3 | TKO | 1 | 21 Jul 1989 | For WBA, WBC, IBF, and lineal heavyweight titles | ||
Win | 22–2 | TKO | 3 | 10 Nov 1988 | USBA Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:20 of the third round. | ||
Win | 21–2 | UD | 12 | 27 Jun 1988 | USBA Heavyweight Title/IBF World Heavyweight Title Eliminator. 117–110, 116–111, 116–112 | ||
Win | 20–2 | TKO | 1 | 27 Jan 1988 | USBA Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:56 of the first round. | ||
Win | 19–2 | TKO | 7 | 17 Oct 1987 | |||
Win | 18–2 | RTD | 8 | 21 Jun 1987 | USBA Heavyweight Title. Cooper could not answer the bell for round eight. | ||
Loss | 17–2 | TKO | 2 | 16 Feb 1986 | Referee stopped the bout at 2:37 of the second round. | ||
Win | 17–1 | TKO | 10 | 31 Aug 1985 | Referee stopped the bout at 0:37 of the tenth round. | ||
Loss | 16–1 | UD | 15 | 20 May 1985 | For IBF, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles | ||
Win | 16–0 | UD | 10 | 23 Oct 1984 | 8–2, 7–3, 9–1 | ||
Win | 15–0 | TKO | 3 | 9 Aug 1984 | Referee stopped the bout at 2:14 of the third round. | ||
Win | 14–0 | RTD | 2 | 7 Mar 1984 | Benson could not answer the bell for round three. | ||
Win | 13–0 | TKO | 4 | 9 Sep 1983 | Referee stopped the bout at 2:20 of the fourth round. | ||
Win | 12–0 | PTS | 10 | 16 Aug 1983 | |||
Win | 11–0 | TKO | 1 | 30 Jun 1983 | |||
Win | 10–0 | TKO | 3 | 24 Apr 1983 | |||
Win | 9–0 | TKO | 1 | 18 Feb 1983 | Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the first round. | ||
Win | 8–0 | PTS | 8 | 9 Dec 1982 | |||
Win | 7–0 | TKO | 3 | 22 Oct 1982 | |||
Win | 6–0 | TKO | 3 | 20 Aug 1982 | |||
Win | 5–0 | TKO | 6 | 11 Jun 1982 | |||
Win | 4–0 | KO | 1 | 28 May 1982 | |||
Win | 3–0 | TKO | 2 | 30 Apr 1982 | |||
Win | 2–0 | TKO | 1 | 31 Mar 1982 | |||
Win | 1–0 | UD | 4 | 22 Jan 1982 | 4–0, 4–0, 4–0 |
Achievements | ||
---|---|---|
Vacant Title last held by Tony Tucker |
USBA Heavyweight Champion 21 June 1987 – 8 March 1991 |
Succeeded by Tim Witherspoon |
References
- In this corner, a new heavy contender... by Tom Hanrahan, Daily News from New York, March 7, 1980, p. 177.
- Mike Tyson vs Carl Williams - ENTIRE HBO PROGRAM
- Williams issuing stern warning to Bodzianowski, By Tom Hanrahan, Daily News from New York, April 5, 1981, p. 97.
- Williams Wins Heavyweight Final. New York Times, March 21, 1981.
- New York Wins 9 of 11 Bouts. New York Times, April 28, 1981.
- A tale of two Golden cities, By Tom Hanrahan, Daily News from New York, April 26, 1981, p. 95.
- American boxers scored four wins in four outings. UPI, September 24, 1981.
- American boxers triumph, Biddeford Journal Tribune, September 24, 1981, p. 15.
- Carl Williams Amateur Record at the BoxingRecords. Last updated : April 12, 2006.
- Carl ‘The Truth’ Williams was as skilled a heavyweight as any that ever stepped into the ring by Tim Smith, New York Daily News, April 12, 2013.
- Carl 'The Truth' Williams: Boxer who fought Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes by Steve Bunce, The Independent, 17 April 2013.
- Mike Tyson - Most Brutal Boxing Sparring Wars
- http://www.boxing.com/ten_count_for_carl_the_truth_williams.html