Danny Williams Expects To Cash Winning Ticket in Boxing Sweepstakes

Most of us don't know anything about Danny Williams, but most of us are pretty sure he's going to be hammered into 250 pounds of pulp on the night of July 30 inside Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ken.

That's when Williams – a polite chap with a British accent, a long shot, a respectable 31-3 record and nothing to lose – fights Mike Tyson for what he hopes will be fame and many, many future fortunes.

How did a guy like Williams become the next scheduled fall guy in the newest version of the Mike Tyson Heavyweight Sweepstakes?

Easy. Tyson's people asked him.

“It's a beautiful feeling,” said Williams, his accent making it a little tough at times to understand exactly what he was saying. “In this fight, I'm expected to be knocked out in the first few rounds. I have no pressure on me at all. I have nothing to lose.”

Nothing except maybe his consciousness.

“I believe my jab is the key to this fight,” Williams went on, talking to the press on a conference call Tuesday from New York, where he's training for the fight. “My jab and quick footwork (will make the difference). Tyson knows only one way to fight.”

And overall, it's worked pretty well for him.

Williams doesn't boast or make outrageous predictions or call anyone names. He doesn't yell or swear or bad-mouth Tyson. He just quietly answers questions tossed at him from writers around the world. He believes he will surprise Tyson with his speed and his power. And he's holding onto the hope that Tyson might be looking past him and into the future at a bigger name and a bigger purse.

Catch Tyson by surprise and you never know what can happen.

“I've been training hard and I'll be ready to rumble,” Williams said. “And Mike Tyson is not the fighter he used to be. He was one of the greatest fighters of all time, but he's about 40 percent of the fighter he was. He's just not the fighter he used to be.”

Which brought up the logical question that aside from the money , what does Williams have to gain by beating Tyson?

“Even at 40 percent, he's still better then a lot of fighters at 100 percent,” Williams said, proving that he's not just quick on his feet.

In getting ready for the fight, Williams said he's running like he's never run before, and training harder than he's ever trained before.

“In the past, I've been bringing my game down to the level of the (fighters) I was fighting,” he said, trying to explain his three losses to three relatively unknown fighters. “But this is the biggest fight of my career and I'm going to bring my game up to the occasion.

“A lot of people think I'm an English bum, but I've been knocking my sparring partners out.”

Though he didn't know the names of all the guys he's been sparring with and knocking out, he knew the name of Clifford Etienne, the same Clifford Etienne who was the last guy to fight Tyson. That was back in February 2003 in Memphis, when Tyson stopped him at the 49-second mark of the first round.

“I don't think (Etienne) can tell me much about Tyson's technique, because he wasn't in there long enough,” Williams said, probably biting his cheek to keep from laughing. “But Tyson has to get through me and I don't think he will. I've got a lot of power and a lot of speed and I expect to surprise Mike Tyson.”

Yeah. Tyson and the rest of the world.