DaVarryl Williamson

DaVarryl Jerome Williamson (born July 25, 1968)[3] is an American former professional boxer originally from Washington, D.C., but later a resident of Aurora, Colorado. He compiled a professional record of 27–8, with 23 knockouts.

DaVarryl Williamson
Statistics
Real name	DaVarryl Jerome Williamson
Nickname(s)	Touch Of Sleep[1][2]
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Reach	80 in (203 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	July 25, 1968 (age 52) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	33
Wins	27
Wins by KO	23
Losses	6
Draws	0

Early life

Williamson was raised in poverty in inner city Washington D.C.. He was born to a mother addicted to drugs and a criminal father. He spent his youth moving between foster homes and between schools until his father chose to resume contact at the age of 11. He got a football scholarship to Rochester Community College in Minnesota, before getting another scholarship to Wayne State College in Nebraska, graduating in 1993.[1]

Amateur career

Williamson started boxing as an amateur at the age of 25.[1] In January 1995, he received an offer to join the U.S. Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Michigan, in order to qualify at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Williamson failed to qualify, but joined the team as an alternate.[1] Standing 6 ft 3 in tall, Williamson gained popularity for his punching power, mainly for his clubbing right-hand haymaker, which became known as "Touch of Sleep".[1][2] As an amateur, Williamson won the National Golden Gloves heavyweight championships in 1996 and 1999, and United States national amateur championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and built a record of 120 wins, 17 losses and 1 draw, with 103 wins coming by knockout (88% KO rate).[1]

Highlights

1996 Olympic Trials Heavyweight

• Defeated Harold Sconiers ko 1
• Defeated David Washington ko
• Lost to Nate Jones on points

1996 Challengers Olympics Heavyweight

• Defeated Lamon Brewster on points

1996 Olympics Heavyweight Box-Offs

• Lost to Nate Jones on points

1997 United States Heavyweight Championships

• Defeated James Jackson ko 1
• Defeated Terry Smith ko 2
• Defeated Calvin Brock ko 3

1997 World Championships in Budapest (Heavyweight)

• Defeated Garth da Silva (N-Z) on points
• Lost to Mark Simmons] (Can) on points

1998 Tournament in Tampere, Finland (Heavyweight)

• Defeated Kai Brankarr (Fin) tko 1

1998 United States Heavyweight Championships

• Defeated Sam Sleezer tko 2
• Defeated Kevin Montly ko 1
• Defeated Stanley Mc Clain ko 3
• Defeated Calvin Brock on points

1998 Goodwill Games (Heavyweight)

• Defeated Mocerino ko 1
• Defeated Kshinin ko 2
• Lost to Félix Savón (Cub) ko 1

1999: United States Heavyweight Championships

• Defeated Sifou Sua ko 4
• Lost to Jason Estrada on points

1999: Golden Gloves (Heavyweight)

• Defeated Devin Vargas ko
• Defeated Patrick Nuwamu ko
• Defeated Jason Estrada on points
• Defeated Jeremiah Muhammad ko 2
• Defeated Michael Bennett (boxer) ko 2

1999 Multi-National Tournament in Liverpool, England (Heavyweight:)

• Defeated Kevin Evans (Gal) tko
• Lost to Garth Da Silva (N-Z) on points

2000 Olympic Trials Heavyweight

• Defeated Anthony Stewart points
• Defeated Mike Kirkman points
• Lost to Michael Bennett (boxer) points

2000 Challengers Round Olympic Trials Heavyweight

• Lost to Malik Scott points

Professional career

Williamson made his professional debut in 2000 at the age of 32.[4] He won his first eighteen fights out of 19, with 16 of them by knockout (KO) inside the first five rounds[5] before facing another undefeated hard-hitting heavyweight Joe Mesi. In the opening minute, Mesi hit Williamson with a right-left combination, unleashing a barrage of punches which ultimately put Williamson down. Davarryl was not able to get up at the count of ten, declaring Mesi the winner by first-round KO.[6]

Afterwards, Williamson defeated Kendrick Releford by fifth-round TKO and Cuban contender Eliecer Castillo by majority decision before facing Wladimir Klitschko. The fight took place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.[4] Williamson dropped Klitschko forty seconds into the second round, but was unable to capitalize on it. An accidental head butt in the closing seconds of the fifth round caused Klitschko bleeding from a cut above his right eye. Due to the cut, the fight was prematurely stopped, with Klitschko being declared the winner by technical decision. Two of the judges scored the fight identically 49–46 in favor of Klitschko, while the third judge had Williamson winning 48–47.[7][8]

Just one month after the bout, Williamson defeated former world champion, 39-year old Oliver McCall, who was on the comeback trail and lost 19 lbs for this bout, by unanimous decision.[9] He then faced former world title challenger Derrick Jefferson less than three months later, stopping him in the second round. Both fights took place at Madison Square Garden.[4] Following the win over Jefferson, Williamson received a title shot against Chris Byrd for the IBF world heavyweight title. The bout took place in Reno, Nevada, and was the main event of Don King's card that included James Toney fighting Dominick Guinn.[10] The fight, which some observers expected to be "explosive", was marked by a series of feints and clinches.[11] The bout went full twelve rounds, with Byrd being declared the winner by unanimous decision, with two judges scoring the fight 116–112 and one judge scoring it 115–113. The end of the fight was followed with boos from the crowd.[11] Following the fight it was revealed Williamson had postponed elbow surgery.

Following the loss, Williamson won two fights, beating journeyman Maurice Wheeler and undefeated prospect Mike Mollo within four rounds each,[4] before facing former world title challenger Kali Meehan on October 6, 2007 at Madison Square Garden. Williamson, who was 39 years old at the time, lost by sixth-round TKO.[4] He got his last chance to fight for the title in 2009, facing Ray Austin in the WBC heavyweight title eliminator, but was stopped in the fourth round.[12] After that, Williamson fought sporadically, having fought three times before retiring in 2014 after losing to Eric Molina at the age of 45.[4]

Professional boxing record

Accolades

• National Golden Gloves Champion - 1996, 1999
• United States national amateur heavyweight champion – 1996, 1997, 1998 (first and only heavyweight to win the championships three times in a row)
• 10-Time National Amateur Boxing Champion
• Goodwill Games Silver Medalist - 1998
• U.S. Olympic Team - First Alternate - 1996
• U.S. Olympic Festival Champion - 1995
• American Boxing Classic Champion - 1995, 1996, 1999
• National Police Athletic League Champion - 1999
• His professional opponents have a combined record of 337–150–6

References

1. "A Touch of Sleep". 5280.com. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
2. "Perhaps the most stinging blow suffered by Davarryl Williams". AP News. March 13, 1997. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
3. "DaVarryl Williamson". BoxRec.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
4. "BoxRec: Davarryl Williamson". BoxRec. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
5. "BoxRec: Bout: Joe Mesi vs Davarryl Williamson". BoxRec. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
6. "Joe Mesi vs Davarryl Williamson 2/3". YouTube. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
7. "BoxRec: Bout: Wladimir Klitschko v DaVarryl Williamson". BoxRec. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
8. "Klitschko wins split decision after head butt". BoxRec. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
9. "BoxRec: Oliver McCall". BoxRec. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
10. "Saturday, 1 October 2005: Reno Events Center, Reno, Nevada, USA". BoxRec. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
11. "Byrd Wins Snoozer over Williamson". ESPN. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
12. "Ray Austin vs. Davarryl Williamson". BoxRec. Retrieved 13 March 2020.

External links

• DaVarryl Williamson's TOS Boxing Gym
• Boxing record for DaVarryl Williamson from BoxRec