BoxRec

Cleveland Williams vs James Wiley
December.19.1961
Sam Houston Coliseum Houston Texas.
Cleveland Williams- 210 lbs- 50-4-0
James Wiley -192 lbs-7-15-3


(The Wiley KO is in this clip)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLPFlad7Ge8

additional Cleveland Williams bouts
as televised by
The ABC-TV Saturday Night Fight of the Week.

July.10.1962- Williams vs Eddie Machen-Houston

March.9.1963-Williams vs Billy Daniels(I)-Miami Beach

newspaper article,results of Williams vs Machen 10.July.1962(Houston).

http://www.news.google.com/newspapers?i ... ,532694&dq

newspaper results of the ABC Fight of the week
Cleveland Williams vs Billy Daniels 09.March.1963(Miami Beach).

http://www.news.google.com/newspapers?i ... 3468524&dq

here is a short news article about ABC-TV Fight of the Week
Cleveland Williams vs Ernie Terrell (II)
13.April.1963-Philadelphia.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Za ... 4603192&dq

Your previous post reminded me to post a link to photo a from
Cleveland Williams vs Dave Bailey Oct.23.1962-Houston Texas.
Sonny looks like he may have been a great dancer too.
Was there no end to the talent of this man?

http://gettyimages.com/detail/news-phot ... /157456207

When did Bill Gore quit being Cleveland Williams coach and trainer?
There is a newspaper article from 1963 that headlines said Bill Gore was involved in some serious accident near his home near Lutz Florida.

For some reason I wasn't able to find a free google newspaper article concerning the results of Williams vs Terrell I,
April.3.1962,Houston Texas.
But I did come across an old article originally published 4.April.1962 by the United Press International and transcribed at this site in the boxrec.com/media dept.

"Cleveland (Big Cat)Williams,212,the 6th rank heavyweight contender,scored
a 7th round TKO Tuesday night over young Ernest Terrell,202,of Chicago in a scheduled 10 round fight.
After a slow start,Williams caught Terrell with a left cross in the 3rd round and had the fight his own way from then on.
The Chicago fighter had opened a cut under William's left eye within the first minute of the 1st round.
In the 6th,Williams hit him with a right hook followed by a left cross and Terrell hit the canvas but bounced back up after an eight count.
Referee Sonny Liston stopped the bout at 1:47 of the 7th round after Williams had battered Terrell with a series of rights and lefts".
-United Press international-

( link to a Spanish language article from 1968 but with a ring action photo of Williams vs Terrell (I)
3.April.1962-Houston Texas,in the article.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4g ... 4133935&dq

Jumping ahead in time in the Cleveland Williams fun facts thread chronology.
(before I forget the URL mainly).
Here is a newspaper article from 27.May.1970 with a ring action photo of
Cleveland Williams vs Roberto Davila (I)May.26.1970 at Milwaukee Wisc.
Cleveland Williams was (almost)37 years old and it was his 74th professional fight.

http://www.news.google.com/newspapers?i ... 3552091&dq


(scroll to the far right then up to the upper right of the page
to see a cool ring action photo.
Who does Cleveland Williams remind you of in it?especially with the gold teeth.
(I thought it was him for a second until I saw the date of the newspaper).

Fun Fact # 52

Here is a listing of scheduled fights for Cleveland Williams
and the original scheduled air dates
for ABC-TV , that were either postponed or canceled.

-September.28.1960 -Cleveland Williams vs Harold Johnson-Chicago
(cancelled due to Harold Johnson cutting his hand during training,
this was to be on the final show of the ABC-TV Wednesday Night fights series, which debut in 1951 with Joe Louis vs Ezzard Charles)

-February.10.1962 -Williams vs Eddie Machen-MSG
(postponed due to Machen slipping on some ice and hurting his back,
the fight that replace it was Cassius Clay vs Sonny Banks)

-June.9.1962 Williams vs Eddie Machen-MSG
(postponed to Machen's brow being cut during training)

*Oct.14.1959 Williams vs Curley Lee-Houston
was the original date for Liston vs Williams II.(Liston hurt his hand)

Check out this posed photo of Cleveland Williams
on the cover of RING POST fight programme Williams vs. Charlie Polite.
March 1969.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-boxing-pro ... 0616513107

Fun Filled Fact # 67

The Big Cat was a sparring partner for Joe Bugner doing public workout sessions at the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas for at least a week
before Bugner's bout with Muhammad Ali,14.February 1973.
I think this may have been the last time I read of him in a ring anyway.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SM ... 1783474&dq

What are the sources that the Big Cat fought some smokers in the Caribbean?
Just seems sort of out of place with someone of his reputation as a pro.
I know Jeff Merritt fought in the Caribbean around 1971,
when his boxing license was suspened for not showing up
for a fight at the last minute in Miami Beach for a packed house.
Merritt was over in the Overton section trying to score some drugs.
In the meantime he fought in the islands off in the Region.
Next thing Merritt broke his contract and was up in NYC in Don King's stable.
I had read in Cleveland William's last pro fight in 1972 that from what few reports, he was nearly defeated.
Bobby Mashburn had him down in the first and third rounds but Cleveland Williams came back in the 9th and won a TKO.
I wonder if in 1973-1974 ,Cleveland Williams had used an alias again like he did when he went AWOL from the Army from Fort Jackson,SC in 1955 for about a month and fought at least once under the alias Earl Mack
(which BTW his fathers name was,Eugene Thomas Mack).

newspaper article from 22.0ctober.1956.

http://www.news.google.com/newspapers?i ... 2299778&dq

The Williams fight that was canceled at the last minute because he was picked up by the MP's(and spent 30 days in the Fort Sam Houston stockade),
was to have been against Ted Donal of New Orleans
as a semi-final to Chico Vejar vs Johnny Cesario(managed by Lou Vicusi) at Auditorium ,Miami Beach Fl. May.10.1955.

What was Cleveland William's actual height(in his socks)?
I have read it in various sources where he was listed at 6 ft 2", 6 ft 3",
6 ft 4" and even 6 ft 6".
(scroll down to lower left of article to see photo of Cleveland Williams standing nest to Muhammad Ali
with Joe Louis in the background).

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y4 ... 8205202&dq

(both have their shirts still on so I doubt Williams
(looking a little Tyson-esque again) is standing on a scale
but he looks at least 2 inches taller then Ali to me from this photo).

http://gettyimages.com/detail/newsphoto ... o/90532393



http://gettyimages.com/detail/newsphoto ... o/90607219


http://gettyimages.com/detail/newsphoto ... o/50397094

"Williams knocked out Roy Crear of Dallas with 2:42 gone in the first round.
The 34-year old Houston boxer floored Crear
with a left-right combination to the jaw."

dempseyfire wrote:I know his fights with Mac Foster were filmed but are now lost; I heard the first Foster-Williams fight was a slugfest while it lasted.

If you don't mind me asking dempseyfire ,How would you know for sure that that they were filmed and subsequently lost?
Although of course It would seem logical that these fights would attract a lot of interest,particularly involving a up and coming knockout artist against
another knockout artist on the downside of his career.
Foster was undefeated,but(reportedly) he had been knocked down in one of his previous fights(his ring debut against Jimmy Gilmore).
This first Foster-Williams fight had the potential of being a Foreman-Lyle.

hey Il Duce,
what do you know about Cleve Williams early life(Griffin GA). and the very early part of his professional boxing career?
I have a few assorted facts gleamed from a number of newspaper articles mainly,but nothing definative.
Usually when a fighter gets a shot at the heavyweight title the news reporters
go in to some detail at least of how he got into that position.
However in Williams case most of the newspaper copy in November 1966
was concerning his incident with the Texas Highway Patrol officer
and how Williams miracilously even came back to box(
he was down to 155 lbs-161 lbs in some sources following the surgeries.

I read where his uncle had him behind a plow at age 8
behind a black mule named"Mary" on the farm in Griffin Georgia.
(that little snippet I got from Best Sports Stories ,1967 Edition,
but I wasnt able to read the full account at google books due to some copyright reasons)
But that would have been around 1942 ,I think a reason for that may have been because most of the able bodied men in the area(like all areas in the USA at the time)were either going overseas or stationed at the various Army camps and forts across the USA during the onset of WWII.

I also read somewhere that his first"pro" record was 4-1-1(4 KO's),
he was 182 lbs at 14-15 years of age.
but was barred by the Georgia Boxing commision when they found out his age.which makes me think maybe he was fighting under an alias then.
perhaps as"Earl Mack"?Thats the name he fought when he went AWOL from Camp Jackson SC in 1955.
Mack was the last time of his biological father.

and of course in the days before he drifted down to Tampa Florida
Cleve Willaims had worked at a Pulpwood mill
for an undetermined period of time where he development the ruminations
and prototype of his
"Pulpwood Punch",which was an earlier version of
the more well known Donovan Razor Ruddock's
"the Smash",whichwas sort of a combination half uppercut,half left hook".

Fun Fact # 19

Cleveland Williams got his professional boxing start(as an adult) in1951
as a sparring partner to Tampa light-Heavyweight Danny Nardico,
(who was also managed by Lou Viscusi and coached and trained by Bill Gore)

and on a related note.
from the July.18.1953 issue of JET magazine.

http://books.google.com/books?id=kUIDAA ... pg=PA64&dq

It sounds like they may have been extra slow in paying it out.
Sort of reminds me of a lyric I heard on the radio earlier today.
The Taxman by the Beatles.
"Should five percent appear too small.
Be Thankful i dont take it all"

Speaking of Tampa Florida.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafficante_crime_family

I wonder if Cleveland Williams had ever sparred with Bob Foster
when Lou Viscusi managed him and Bill Gore trained him in the early 1970's.
After the title fight with Ali Novemeber 1966,Williams was broke
and was washing dishes in 1967 until Lou Viscusi found him some boxing matches to help him out finacially at least.

I also noticed that Cleveland Williams had fought 2 fights as preliminaries to
Ron Lyles fight and also Duane Bobick had fought at least once with both of them.Did Cleveland williams try to become part of Bill Daniels Denver Colorado stable or hired as a sparring partner for Lyle or Duane Bobick in 1972?