Mike Weaver v. Carl Williams

The Truth was boxing brilliantly .sucker punch. How would Carl's future of been with out that shot?.RIP .

 

Weaver later said that he faked being hurt to lure Williams in for that left hook.

 

I watched that fight recently. Weaver's left hook was brutal to head and body, wasn't it? Another thing that I remember was an issue of KO magazine where it mentioned Williams saying "I'm still the better athlete" and commented "Tennis, anyone?".

 

The Tate knockout was great, too. Right to the body, perfect left hook to the head. I know he had his weaknesses, but I liked watching Weaver fight.

 

I instantly recognized watching the live broadcast at home that Mike was setting Carl up for the hook by feigning distress. The tip off was how Hercules had his left held in a loaded position, not defensively upside his head as he had when Holmes, Coetzee and Dokes had him in trouble. (In his next bout, he again had his left held upright like that after legitimately hurt by a wary and cautious Bonecrusher.) I knew immediately he was timing The Truth for another Knoxville Bomb, and he nailed it perfectly.

Again, review the footage of how Mike held his left up when Holmes, Coetzee and Dokes had him in genuine dire straits, and there's no question he played possum with Carl in a brilliantly planned trap, using his right hand and left shoulder for defensive purposes while preparing to spring that hook.

Considering that this was the victim of the paranoia of referee Joey Curtis in Dokes I (who overreacted prematurely in the aftermath of Mancini-Kim), it was an amazing ploy by about the last prominent boxer one might have expected to attempt it. Tony Perez seemed to realize what Hercules was doing though, and appeared to be positioning himself in the ring to watch what Mike was about to unload. (Perez had a perfect view, standing back and off to Weaver's left along the ropes when it happened.)

 

Left hooks were always Williams' kryptonite. This was really Weaver's last hurrah as a contender. He got KO'd by Bonecrusher in his next fight and was never really in contention again.

Weaver was actually very good at playing possum. He did similar against DuPlooy and Coetzee as well.

 

To me, that left was not being held low for defensive purposes, but in reserve for being sprung. It just wasn't how Mike held it after getting up from that Holmes uppercut, when Coetzee stunned him against the ropes, and after he got up in the opening round of Dokes I when Joey Curtis panicked. He was holding his left in the same position it started from when he knocked John Tate cold. All I could see was a deliberate set up.

 

Yeah, Williams was dominating and went in for the kill and dropped his hands. Boom.

One punch in essence determined the fight.

I don't buy that Weaver was feinging being hurt and setting a trap. He was getting his a@@ handed to him.

 

Williams was doing well but I don't think Weaver was anywhere near being stopped. Not on a fair call anyway.
He might have been setting Williams up, who knows. That's obviously not something we could know for sure, that's the whole point.

Regardless, it's difficult to believe Williams had the stuff to beat Weaver in hindsight. It wasn't one fluke lucky punch from some nobody, that was a veteran experienced fighter known for those types of punches against a fighter who was vulnerable to such a punch. Williams was favourite because people figured Weaver was too far past his prime. Weaver was blasted out by Smith in his next fight but went on to upset a couple of other prospects too (Johnny DuPlooy and James Pritchard) the following year.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe anyone dropped Williams before Weaver did it? Outside of Ferguson? His vulnerability to left hooks wasn't exposed yet. All people knew at the time was that Williams was a master boxer with his only loss being a controversial decision against Holmes, who was better than Weaver by a fair notch.