Part 1 of 3:
EAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER
DANNY WILLIAMS,
FORMER WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
LENNOX LEWIS
NATIONAL CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT
DECEMBER 6, 2004
 Part II Lennox Lewis Joins the Conversation
Part III Conversation only with Lennox Lewis
Part I
Opening Comments:
Williams: I said weeks ago that I had surpassed the fitness I was for the title fight. I am in tremendous shape. This has always been a dream of mine to become World Heavyweight Champion and this is a real opportunity to make that dream come true.
Begin Press Questions:
Question: Danny, what is the key to you beating Vitali Klitschko on Saturday night?
Williams: The key is hunger and desire. I have tremendous hunger. I am a warrior. You saw that in the Tyson fight. I showed a tremendous chin. These are the things that it will take to beat Klitschko. I will have be at my best and I will have to be a warrior.
Question: You have said how your father basically forced you to start boxing when you were a young kid and that is how you became a professional fighter. Can you recall what it was like when you first went to the gym and what it was like when you got into your first sparring session with somebody else?
Williams: My dad forced me into the sport when I was five or six. He used to train me. When I was eight, he sent me to a boxing gym. I remember when I was sparring, my trainers thought I had great ability, but I just did not want to be there. Many times my dad would send me to the gym and I would sneak off and go play pool or table tennis elsewhere and pour water on my clothes to make it look like I was training. I just was not interested. After many years, I grew to love it and here I am today.
Question: How old were you when you finally began to love it?
Williams: I was probably about 13 or 14. Gradually, I started to like it.
Question: How much inspiration have you taken from Lennox Lewis, particularly in the way he cut through all the politics to make his mark in a world which was so dominated by Americans until that point?
Williams: I give Lewis big respect in the way he was able to unify the titles without joining teams.
Question: When you were going through all your well documented days of self-doubt, presumably there were times where you feared you would never be able to be involved in that sort of company. Is that true?
Williams: No, my problem was never the self doubt. My problem was that I wanted it too much and I burned up too much energy thinking about the fights. I always believed I was going to get here and praise be to God I am here.
Question: Now that we are so close to the fight, does the size of the occasion get to you at all? Is it overwhelming or has it just increased your appetite for it?
Williams: To be honest, I realize this is part of the job, so it has got to be done. But as far as this putting any pressure on me, I just take it in my stride. What will be, will be.
Question: Were you 14 years old before you were actually good at it, or was it 14 before you actually liked boxing?
Williams: I was 14 when I actually liked it. When I started, my trainers would say that I had natural ability and I was a born fighter. When I used to spar with people who had been there for years, I used to take them out. But it was just something that I did not want to do; I would rather be playing with my mates on the street. I did not want to be getting hit in my head and things like that.
Question: Why did your father feel it was important to get you into boxing so young?
Williams: From when I was born, he said he had the dream that I was going to become world champion. My dad is very slim; he assumed I would be a middleweight. By the time I was eight, I passed that weight. So when I was about 13 or 14, he knew I was going to be heavyweight champion.
Question: When John Ruiz won the title from Holyfield in 2001, there was a lot of talk that you were going to be his first opponent for a title defense. Are you kind of glad that that never happened now given the fact that looking at where you were in your career then, you may not have been as ready as you are now?
Williams: A 100 percent right. I was not ready mentally. I was ready physically, but not mentally. The occasion and all this would have got to me and I would have lost the fight before I got into the ring. Also, I was down to fight Mike Tyson a few years ago. So certainly it worked to my favor because mentally I was not ready for those types of fights. I am ready now.
Question: Are there any concerns in your mind should the fight go the distance and the outcome be left in the hands of the judges?
Williams: I believe we will get a fair crack of the whip in Vegas. So I am not really worried about that. My trainer has got me in tremendous shape and we have been training for this fight for 10 weeks. It is highly unlikely it will go to the points (the distance).
Question: Vitali has talked about how political turmoil in Ukraine may be affecting him. Do you think that is a ready-made excuse?
Williams: To be honest, I do not know. I was really shocked that he would come out with those statements, but I really do not know.
Question: You were talking about how in the past you might have burned up all your nervous energy before you even got to the ring and that was sort of your big problem rather than self doubt. What will stop you doing that this time?
Williams: My attitude is what will be, will be and I will just put my trust in God. Whatever is going to happen will happen. I want to have that attitude when I come into the ring and relax. That is when you get the best of Danny Williams. I will just come into the ring relaxed and calm and I do not believe anyone can beat me when I am like that.
Question: In your training for the fight against Tyson, you used guys more or less the same size as Tyson in training. How do you train for a guy like Klitschko who is over 6-foot-7 and how are you training specifically preparing for him?
Williams: We are using great sparring partners. One is 6-foot-7 and the other one is 6-foot-6. So we are using very tall sparring partners. We do not only spar, we do technique where we work on set moves to prepare for Vitali’s style and his head movement.
Question: Has Lennox Lewis specifically spoken to you about ways to beat Vitali and has he given you any insight?
Williams: Lennox Lewis has not actually spoken to me personally, but he has spoken on my web site, www.dannywilliams.tv. He said there are three ways I can beat Vitali Klitschko. One is to go to his body, second is to open up his cuts and the third is to outbox him. So he has given me some good advice.
Question: Do you feel he is supportive of you because you are both British?
Williams: Yes, I do believe so. I am very thankful for all his advice.
Question: What is your father’s name?
Williams: Augustus Williams.
Question: What other kinds of things are you working on in sparring?
Williams: We are working on the obvious -- get past his long reach, great head movement and we are working with great tall sparring partners. It has been really good work.
Question: Before the Tyson fight, you seemed to be very calm and confident. How is your mental attitude at this point just a few days before this fight?
Williams: It is the same – very calm and relaxed. That was always my problem early in my career. I used to really work myself up too much. When it comes to the fight time, I will be able to perform. My attitude is to be relaxed and that is when you see the best Danny Williams.
Question: Do you have any prediction to make?
Williams: No, just a Danny Williams’ victory.
Question: What did you learn from that first round against Tyson?
Williams: One thing I learned with the Mike Tyson fight is that I have got a tremendous chin. He hit me with some tremendous shots. Also, another thing I learned, in the fight game, you have got to prepare for every eventuality. I went into the Mike Tyson fight thinking I was going to box him and that was not working. So I ended up having to fight him. So it will be the same against Klitschko. I am training to do certain things, but I will change it and do other things if they do not work.
Question: One of the main criticisms of Lennox was that he would not let his hands go and please the crowd by trying to take a guy out. Are you concerned about that?
Williams: You see the way I fought against Tyson. I have a very crowd pleasing style.
Question: If you are victorious against Vitali, would you want to be the first guy to beat both brothers?
Williams: Yeah, that would be nice. The main thing is to get Vitali. My mind is focused on him at the moment.
Question: Did you get married yet?
Williams: No, I have not been married yet.
Question: Are you going to get married after this fight?
Williams: We will possibly get married in 2005.
Question: There is a great tradition that large numbers of English/British supporters come over when British fighters fight in Vegas. Do you expect that on Saturday and will it help you if large numbers of British fans turn up? Who is coming over from your family and friends?
Williams: I have been told that there are 3,000-plus British fans coming over, which is tremendous. For my side, a few of my friends are coming over, my mom and dad, my brother and sister, a wife and her kids. It is going to be a tremendous night.
Question: Have you ever had so many family members attend one of your fights?
Williams: Yes, this is the same amount of family members that I had for the Tyson fight.
Question: You said that you have to be a better fighter than the one who beat Tyson. Can you go into that a little bit more?
Williams: I believe in the Tyson fight, I was good, but I need to be better to beat Klitschko. There was not enough head movement there in that fight and there was not enough speed of foot. I just need to improve all around to defeat Klitschko because I believe that he is a fresher and a better fighter than Tyson was when I fought him in July.
Question: Did one of the things that Lennox Lewis advised you on was “opening the cut”?
Williams: Yes.
Question: Do you believe that that is still a vulnerable area that can be exploited?
Williams: Yes. Lewis believes that it can still be exploited because it was one of the biggest cuts I have ever seen. It was a massive cut. My thing is to basically just go out there and be more poised to knock him out. I am not looking to open up any cuts. If it happens, I am looking to take him out.
Question: So part of you realizes that it might be a bad strategy to focus on any one thing?
Williams: Yes, definitely. I am looking to punch his arms, his stomach, his head, everywhere. Hard punch him everywhere. I am not really focusing on one particular spot. He is too good a fighter to allow me to do that.
Question: How many rounds have you sparred since you shifted camp to the US?
Williams: I really do not know.
Question: There is a lot of talk about Vitali, assuming he beats you, trying to lure Lennox out of retirement for a rematch. If you beat Klitschko, would you want to do the same thing and have this sort of an all England championship fight?
Williams: It would make a great fight for the world and especially for the British fans. But as a boxing fan and a Lennox Lewis fan, I would rather Lewis stay in retirement because he is one of the greats of all time. There is no point in coming back. Just relax.
Question: Who do you think is the better Klitschko fighter?
Williams: I think Wladimir. When Wladimir was at his best, Wladimir was potentially a better fighter. He had more fluency about his boxing.
Lennox Lewis welcomed to the call.
Continue to next part: Interview: Lennox Lewis & Danny Williams (Part II)
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