HE could have been so much more. Richard Williams is convinced of that. “My attitude with most things was I’ll do it for the experience,” he reflected. “Because for me, it was I’m just going to try it. When I was training and the training wasn’t that good or it wasn’t that effective, I didn’t have a destination in mind. I was just doing it.” “For that reason I think sometimes I strayed off where I should have been going,” he concluded. “I had no goal. So I had no direction.”
AT PEACE: Williams at his new, high-end boxing gym
The man from Stockwell won the Commonwealth title in 2001 but was capable of more. He did mix with high-calibre opponents. He fought Sergio Martinez twice, the Argentine who at his peak would be regarded as one the finest fighters on the planet. In 2003, when Williams was travelling up to Manchester to box him, he had no idea what he was letting himself in for. “Who knew?” Williams said.