Exclusive - Williams vows to shock Sexton after recovering from mystery illness

Danny Williams has vowed to finish his career on a high by beating Sam Sexton when they contest the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles at West Ham’s Upton Park stadium on 15 May. Kevin Mitchell’s exciting clash with Michael Katsidis for the WBO interim lightweight title tops the open air bill. The 36-year-old Williams, who will hang up his gloves afterwards regardless of the outcome, is believed to be in excellent condition after finally overcoming a medical problem that has plagued him since his world title loss to Vitali Klitschko in 2004.

Williams unceremoniously referred to himself as a “shot fighter” following his defeat to Carl Baker which saw him floored twice in the opening round and eventually outpointed in last October’s Prizefighter tournament. However, the Brixton Bomber is attributing a longstanding health issue as the real reason behind his disappointing slump in form which he now believes he has fully recovered from.

“I did say that I was shot and I believed it, too. However, now I’m back with (trainer) Jim McDonnell that’s no longer the case. After losing to Klitschko my body started to break down when I was training. At the time I thought it was because Jimmy was overtraining me because after each session I’d spend the next four days in bed trying to recover. After that I started to train on my own because I didn’t trust any other trainer and would just hire someone to be in my corner on fight night to look after me,” explained Williams to BoxRec News.

“I’ve since spent thousands of pounds attempting to get to the bottom of the problem and have only recently discovered that I had a worm in my stomach and an infection in my bladder. The problem has now been fully cleared up with some tablets and by me changing my diet. I feel great and the training I can complete in one day now with Jimmy is more than I could do in a week previously. Sam Sexton’s going to be surprised when I get in the ring with him,” Danny continued.

Williams was previously scheduled to box Sexton at Wembley Arena in February but the fight had to be postponed when Sexton sustained a cut hand in sparring. Williams was offered the opportunity to defend his British crown against the unbeaten Derek Chisora on the same bill but then performed a u-turn and withdrew himself, much to the frustration of show promoter Frank Warren. It led many to question whether Williams’ heart was still in boxing after a topsy turvy 15-year career.

“Sexton is a fight I was really hyper for but as soon as he pulled out I lost all motivation. After that I actually got arrested while I was driving my own car in London. Even though the police officers recognised me, I was still taken to the station and locked up which is part of the reason why I pulled out against Chisora. I was also struggling with my viral infection,” revealed Williams.

“My wife Zoe came down to the station with all the correct documentation to prove that it was my car but they still left me locked up for another four hours. If you look at my resume, I’ve fought Tyson, (Vitali) Klitschko, Samil Sam and all the top heavyweights in Europe so how can people think I would be scared of fighting someone like Chisora?” he added.

Williams, who turned down a short notice chance to fight old nemesis Audley Harrison for the vacant European title to focus on Sexton, has previously sparred the Norwich heavyweight when he was a relative novice and was impressed.

“I thought Sexton was an excellent fighter even when I sparred with him and he’s got better since then. I liked his mentality in that he was willing to travel all over Europe in seek of better sparring in order to improve himself so I knew he was going to be a success. Sexton handled Martin Rogan very well and that comes from him gaining experience by going to lots of different gyms earlier in his career. He wasn’t phased by fighting in front of a hostile Belfast crowd in someone else’s backyard. This is why I’ve got so much respect for Sexton,” admitted Williams.

“I’ve been a professional for 15 years and I don’t get up for every fight but I am definitely motivated by Sexton. It’s going to be a very tough fight but now I’m back with Jimmy I’ve got a few surprises in store for people on the night. He and everyone else is expecting to see the same Danny Williams that fought Carl Baker but they’re going to be in for a major shock.”