Mike Tyson and his Conqueror Danny Williams: Then and Now, a Study in Contrasts

Twenty years ago, on July 30, 2004, Mike Tyson was knocked out in the fourth round by Danny Williams before a crowd of 17,273 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. A five-punch flurry climaxed by a right hook knocked Tyson into the ropes and he was unable to untangle himself before the referee tolled “10.” After the fight, Tyson blew off his obligatory post-fight interview with Showtime’s ringside reporter Jim Gray. He was too embarrassed.

Tyson was then 38 years old and the presumption was that he had reached the end of the line. “O.J. will find the real killer before Tyson recaptures the heavyweight championship. He ought to be fighting Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali for a parking spot at the bingo parlor,” wrote award-winning Denver Post sportswriter Jim Armstong. (But Tyson, as we know, wasn’t completely done. One more indignity would follow when he retired on his stool after six rounds against Irish club fighter Kevin McBride.)

Last night (Monday, Sept. 23) Tyson appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show. The hearty applause that greeted him as he walked on the set bore witness that he is one of America’s most well-liked celebrities.

Twenty years ago, when Tyson fought Williams, it would have been absurd to think that Mike Tyson would some day exchange amusing riffs with the popular host of an iconic television show. Here was an ex-felon who had trouble staying out of trouble, inside and outside the ropes, after being “rehabilitated” with a three-year prison term for rape. He was still under suspension in several jurisdictions for instigating a nasty brawl at a New York press conference to promote his 2002 match with Lennox Lewis, a match that went to Memphis after it was kicked out of Nevada.

Mike Tyson vs. Danny Williams promised to be a nice tax windfall for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, but both the Governor and the Mayor of Louisville encouraged their constituents to boycott it. “Tyson is not my kind of guy…He’s just not my kind of individual that I would support with my money to buy a ticket,” said Mayor Jerry Abrahamson.

Mike Tyson was then scorned as the very antithesis of a good role model. The popularity he enjoys today among the mainstream as he approaches social security age is a comeback more remarkable than that of George Foreman.

And what about Danny Williams?

An Englishman born to immigrants from Jamaica, Williams parlayed his upset of Iron Mike into a lucrative match with WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. That didn’t go well for him – he was knocked down four times before the bout was stopped in the eighth round and spent the night in the hospital as a precaution – but he reportedly was in line to pocket $2 million after all the ancillary revenue was counted.

Other than a 6-round fight in Tampa, that would be Williams’ final appearance in a U.S. ring. He returned to England where he recaptured the British title that he had previously held. On March 15, 2010, he lost that title to Derek Chisora, the younger man by 10 years. That was a harsh defeat. Chisora whacked him out in the second round.

Heading in, Williams served notice that this would probably be his final fight. After the bout, he was pressured to keep his word. “I hope he finally retires and if he doesn’t retire, I hope the [British Boxing] Board stops him from fighting because he didn’t look good after the fight,” said promoter Frank Warren.

Danny Williams

In boxing, it often takes a few retirements before one finally fits. Sad to say, but Danny Williams kept on fighting. He was still fighting in August of last year at the age of 50 and may not be done yet ! His record since his encounter with Derek Chisora is 14-24 and he’s been stopped 13 times.

None of those fights were in the U.K. where he is considered damaged goods and has effectively been blackballed. He’s been plying his trade on the Eastern European circuit in places like Latvia, Romania, Hungary, Albania, the Czech Republic and, most recently, Estonia. Fifteen of his last 17 fights were scheduled for six rounds or less, but he’s answered the bell for 428 rounds.

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Mike Tyson was on the Jimmy Kimmel show to promote his Nov. 15 match with Jake Paul at 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. That match, streamed globally on Netflix, will almost certainly rank among the richest prizefights of all time and, by some estimates, Mike Tyson’s share of the swag will amount to $20 million.

Danny Williams extracted a lot of mileage from his transformative upset of Mike Tyson, but it’s doubtful that all of his post-Tyson purses combined surpassed $20 million. And years from now, his loved ones may come to believe that his signature triumph was less a blessing than a curse.

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