Dazzo Williams

Last updated

Dazzo Williams
Born
Darren Williams

(1974-03-19) 19 March 1974 (age 50)
Lambeth, London, England
NationalityBritish
Statistics
Weight(s) Featherweight
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Boxing record
Total fights15
Wins12
Wins by KO3
Losses3

Darren "Dazzo" Williams (born 19 March 1974) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2005. He held the British featherweight title from 2003 to 2005 and challenged once for the Commonwealth and EBU European featherweight titles in 2005.

Contents

Career

Amateur career

Born and raised in Lambeth, London, and based in Hereford during his boxing career, Williams, a former soldier, trained at Gelligaer ABC. [1] He won the 1998 Amateur Boxing Association British featherweight title, when boxing out of the Army ABC. [2]

Professional career

He made his professional debut in February 2001, beating Mickey Coveney via a second-round knockout.

After winning eight from his first ten fights, culminating in a narrow title eliminator win against Steve Chinnock, he challenged for Roy Rutherford's British featherweight title in November 2003 at the Kings Hall, Belfast, taking another narrow points decision. [3] [4] [5] [6] He made three successful title defences in 2004, beating Jamie McKeever, Rutherford, and John Simpson (a controversial victory by only one point) to win the Lonsdale Belt outright. [7] [8]

In June 2005 he faced Nicky Cook, with Cook's Commonwealth and European titles at stake in addition to Williams' British title. [4] Cook knocked Williams out in the second round.

Williams retired from boxing after the Cook fight, initially opening the Wye Amateur Boxing Club with Allan Ford, later also going into promotion. [7] [9] [10] [11]

In 2008 he staged a 100-round 'spar-a-thon' at Wye ABC to raise money for the club. [7] In 2010 the club won the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Winstone</span> Welsh boxer

Howard Winstone, MBE was a Welsh world champion boxer, born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. As an amateur, Winstone won the Amateur Boxing Association bantamweight title in 1958, and a Commonwealth Games Gold Medal at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Arthur</span> Scottish boxer

Alex Arthur, is a Scottish former professional boxer and political candidate for the Alba Party. Competing from 2000 to 2012, he held the WBO and WBO interim super featherweight titles in 2007. At regional level, he held the British super featherweight title twice between 2002 and 2006, and the Commonwealth and EBU European super featherweight title from 2005 to 2006.

Scott Harrison is a Scottish professional boxer who held the WBO featherweight title twice between 2002 and 2005. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth featherweight title from 2000 to 2002 and the British featherweight title in 2001. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the featherweight division at the 1996 European Championships.

Duke McKenzie is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1998. He is a three-weight world champion, having held the IBF flyweight title from 1988 to 1989; the WBO bantamweight title from 1991 to 1992; and the WBO junior-featherweight title from 1992 to 1993. At regional level he held the British flyweight title from 1985 to 1988; the European flyweight title from 1986 to 1988; and the British featherweight title from 1993 to 1994. After retiring from the sport, McKenzie has worked as a boxing commentator for broadcaster ITV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Thomas (boxer)</span>

Jeff Thomas is a British professional boxer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Smith (boxer)</span> English boxer

Stephen Francis Smith is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2019. He challenged twice for a super-featherweight world championship; the IBF and WBA titles, both in 2016. At regional level he held multiple championships, including the British and Commonwealth featherweight titles and the British super-featherweight title between 2010 and 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicky Cook</span> English boxer

Nicky Cook, sometimes known by his ring name Cookie, is a British retired professional boxer who competed from 1998–2011. He held the WBO super featherweight title from 2008 to 2009. He challenged once for the WBO featherweight title in 2007 and again for the WBO super featherweight title in 2011. At the regional level, he held the Commonwealth featherweight title from 2003 to 2005, the British featherweight title in 2005, and the EBU European featherweight title from 2004 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Gomez</span> British boxer

Michael Gomez is a former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2009. He was born to an Irish Traveller family in Longford, Ireland, spending his early years in Dublin before moving to London and later Manchester, England, with his family at the age of nine. In boxing he was affectionately known as "The Predator", "The Irish Mexican" and "The Mancunian Mexican".

John Simpson is a Scottish former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2015. He held the British featherweight title twice between 2006 and 2010 and the Commonwealth featherweight title from 2009 to 2010.

Neil Haddock is a Welsh former lightweight and super featherweight boxer. Before turning professional he won a silver medal as a lightweight at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. His early career as a professional lightweight was not very notable, but after a year out from boxing caused by an eye injury, he returned fitter and lighter as a super featherweight. In 1992 he became the Welsh super featherweight champion, taking the British title just five months later. He retired from boxing in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Conlan (boxer)</span> Irish boxer (born 1991)

Michael John Conlan is an Irish professional boxer. He challenged for the IBF featherweight title in 2023 and the WBA (Regular) featherweight title in 2022. As an amateur, he reached number one in the AIBA bantamweight world rankings, with achievements that include a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics and gold at the 2015 World Championships. He has been one of Ireland's most successful amateur fighters of all time. He turned professional in 2016 after misgivings with the amateur sport, and had his first bout in 2017.

Sean Murphy is an English boxing trainer and former professional fighter.

Keith Wallace born in Prescot was an English amateur flyweight and professional fly/super fly/bantam/super bantam/featherweight boxer of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, who as an amateur won the 1974 Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) 33 kg Schools title, against Kelvin Smart (Newport) boxing out of the BICC ABC (Prescot), won the 1980 ABAE flyweight title, against Danny Flynn boxing out of the St. Helens Star ABC, and won the 1981 ABAE flyweight title, against Dai Williams boxing out of the St. Helens Star ABC, and represented Great Britain at flyweight in the Boxing at the 1980 Summer Olympics, in Moscow, Soviet Union, losing to Daniel Radu of Romania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Cordina</span> Welsh boxer

Joe Cordina is a Welsh-Maltese professional boxer. He is a two-time super-featherweight world champion, having held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title since April 2023 and previously in 2022. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth lightweight titles between 2018 and 2019. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and gold at the 2015 European Championships, both in the lightweight division. He also represented Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Jim McDonnell is a British former boxer who won the European featherweight title and twice fought for World titles at super featherweight.

Charlie Hardcastle (1894–1960) was an English boxer who was British featherweight champion in 1917.

Roy Rutherford is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2005. He held the British featherweight title in 2003 and the English super featherweight title from 2004 to 2005.

Jamie McKeever is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2010. He held the British featherweight title in 2003 and challenged once for the Commonwealth featherweight title in 2006.

Joseph Jacobs is a British former boxer who as an amateur was ABA lightweight champion in 1986, and as a professional was British super featherweight champion in 1990, going on to fight for a world title.

Chris Sanigar is a boxing manager, promoter, and trainer, and former boxer. In his career as a boxer he won the BBBofC Southern Area light welterweight title, and in his managerial career he has worked with several British and World champions.

References

  1. "Gelligaer boxing club hit by arson attack", WalesOnline, 25 June 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  2. "Roll of Honour". England Boxing. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. "We're Poles Apart", The Gazette, 5 June 2004. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  4. 1 2 Worsell, Elliot (2005) "Cook and Williams set to rumble for all three titles.", eurosport.co.uk, 13 June 2005. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  5. "'Stumpy' Is Cut Down By Ferrans Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine ", Burton Mail , 28 February 2005. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  6. Wilkinson, John (2004) "Rutherford out to dazzle Dazzo", Coventry Telegraph , 12 May 2004. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  7. 1 2 3 "Williams to get Back in the Ring", BBC, 26 March 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  8. "Criel Blow in Title Fight", Greenock Telegraph , 8 November 2004. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  9. Worsell, Elliot "Dazzo Williams calls it a day", SecondsOut.com. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  10. "Wye Amateur Boxing Club switch to new premises at Hereford Lads Club", Hereford Times , 24 April 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  11. "Boxing: Mountain Ash fighters hoping for success at the Welsh Amateur Boxing Championships", WalesOnline, 3 March 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2015
  12. "Hereford Boxing Club's royal honour", Hereford Times , 3 June 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2015