Abu Dhabi: Former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Danny Williams will fight Egypt’s Mazur Ali at the Du Forum in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, in what could be his final bout before retirement.
Williams, 40, counts undisputed former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson among his scalps in an 18-year career that has seen him win 44 of his 64 fights (33 by knockout). But, after losing his last nine, the Brixton Bomber is now eager to sign off in style.
Opponent Ali, 38, comes into this bout on the back of three wins with a total of ten victories, five by knockout, in 18 fights.
“I’ve only seen one of his fights on YouTube,” Williams said of Ali. “He looks like a rangy, awkward type of fighter but I think my power and experience will be too much for him.
“I’m four kilos down since my last fight, so I’ve trained hard, feel good and I’m ready to rumble.
“I’ve been doing a lot of work on my stamina, running and weights, to build up my legs. I’m older now, so I’ve got to rebuild my strength. I’ve done a lot of strength training and I’m feeling the benefit of it.”
Asked how long he could continue fighting, Williams, who stunned Tyson in Kentucky in 2004 before losing a WBC title bout with Vitali Klitschko, said: “Not much longer. I’ve been feeling it for years. I came out and said I was a shot fighter back in 2010, so I haven’t been hiding anything. Retirement will be coming very soon.”
Williams’ fight will headline a nine-card evening of boxing organised by Lion Heart Productions. The first event in the Thursday Night Fights at Yas Island series is billed as the first professional boxing event to be held in the capital. Fights start at 8pm and tickets costing from Dh150 to Dh500 are available via ticketmaster.ae.
