Zora Folley vs. Cleveland Williams

Henry Clark couldnt crack an egg, Nino Valdez was coming off a KO loss two months earlier and had won 2 of his last 7 fights. That fight was slow and close. Chuvalo was lucky if he was 6 feet tall and wasnt a huge puncher. The only one of those guys who could punch and was approaching anything near Williams’ 80 inch reach was Valdez who had a 78 inch reach. The Problem there is Valdez was slow, which allowed the timid Folley to counter and pick his spots. In order for him to beat Williams hed have to get under his hooks and jab fast and counter with combos on the inside. None of those things describes Folley. He wasnt fast or aggressive enough to do that. He loved nothing more than to lay back and wait. I only see him beating Williams if Williams tires. Folley had a similar style to Machen although he was much much more passive and this stylistic clash is why Williams, despite his lack of success against contenders, drew with Machen. Folley wasnt as busy as Machen and didnt have Machens chin so I dont see him scoring enough to eak out a draw and factor in any possible trips to the canvas or even a KO loss and it doesnt look good for Folley.

 

I wouldn't say any of the aforementioned men were on Williams level. Perhaps the closest fighter resembling Williams was Valdez but he had lost 5 of his last 7 and looked sluggish against Folley. I think that deserves to be mentioned.

 

I know 2020 has been absolutely insane and taught us to expect the unexpected but I NEVER thought I'd see Klompton defending Williams. What is life?

 

I think Valdes and Williams are about as close as two guys are likely to get physically, which is the point I made. Folley might well lose, but I don't think he loses simply because Williams is too big for him.

As for Valdes compared to Williams, yes, Valdes had lost 5 of 7, to Moore, Satterfield, Baker, and Machen twice. When did Williams have a run in which he fought that many top men? And Valdes was hardly through. He turned it around to win 12 out of his next 13. His victims including Richardson, Erskine, Holman, Bethea, DeJohn (2), Summerlin, Carter, and McMurtry, all of whom were in the NBA ratings between 1956 and 1960, about the time Valdes fought them. How many ever rated guys did Williams defeat in his whole career? How many were rated when he defeated them?

While I think Williams was a better boxer than Valdes, Nino was arguably more durable and the bigger puncher. His list of KO victims--Agramonte, Neuhaus, Sys, Jackson, C-ckell, Richardson, Erskine, Summerlin, Carter, McMurtry, and London--is certainly more impressive than Williams' list.

I don't see a great deal of reason to think Williams was a bigger puncher than DeJohn either. Certainly he doesn't show us this supposed power on film.

Williams is a guy with a very pumped up record until he was shot, which clouds his later career. That certainly leaves an opening to extrapolate from a lack of evidence into his being a much better fighter than his accomplishments warrant. Folley and Valdes on the other hand were pretty well defined for good or ill by their careers. This is what happens when a contender consistently meets top opposition.