Danny Williams will forever be remembered fondly in British boxing history for the remarkable feats he achieved in the ring.
Not only did he shock the world in 2004 by knocking out the legendary Mike Tyson in Kentucky, he also pulled off one of the greatest comebacks ever seen in a British ring.
Long before his American Dream was realised, the ‘Brixton Bomber’ won the British heavyweight title and retained his Commonwealth belt with just one arm.
Williams knocked out Mark Potter at the Wembley Conference Centre on this very day in 2000 with a vicious left uppercut to the jaw with his right ram hanging limply by his side.
His right shoulder was dislocated during the bout and it seemed as though defeat was inevitable and just moments away on several occasions.
Williams was dropped in round one of the contest, before Potter found himself on his backside in the next stanza. At the beginning of the third, Williams moved away from a clinch and it became clear his right shoulder was dislocated.
At the end of the round, corner man Danny Tovey pushed the shoulder back in, despite promoter Frank Warren pleading with Williams to stop the fight.
But the brave Brit refused to throw the towel in and continued to fire out a left jab in the fourth and fifth rounds as he waited for adrenaline to kick in and the pain to subside. By the start of the sixth, he could bend his right arm to defend his chin, but it was out just 15 seconds later.
“I had the towel in my hand ready to throw it in when I saw the shoulder pop in the sixth,” said Jimmy McDonnell, Williams’s trainer. “But I kept hearing Danny telling me ‘Jim, I need just one punch, just one punch and I can knock him out’.” Williams connected with a perfect left uppercut and Potter collapsed.
Both men were soon on the canvas receiving medical attention as Williams’ right arm lay limp by his side as the tears ran down his face.