Holman Williams (January 30, 1915 in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principa ...

– July 15, 1967) was a world welterweight and middleweight

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

contender. Williams is a member of the infamous

Murderers' Row Murderers' Row were the baseball teams of the New York Yankees in the late 1920s, widely considered some of the best teams in history. The nickname is in particular describing the first six hitters in the 1927 team lineup: Earle Combs, Mark K ...

, a group of black fighters who were never able to get a world title shot.

Boxing career

Williams began boxing as an amateur in 1928 as a bantamweight and had a successful 38-bout career. In 1932 he turned pro as a featherweight and would eventually be recognized as one of the most clever welterweights and middleweights of his era. In his career Williams fought in the Lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions, he fought notable champions and contenders such as

Cocoa Kid Herbert Lewis Hardwick Arroyo (May 2, 1914 – December 27, 1966), also known as "Cocoa Kid", was a Puerto Rican boxer of African descent who fought primarily as a welterweight but also in the middleweight division. Hardwick won the World Colore ...

, Charley Burley, Eddie Booker, Bob Satterfield,

Archie Moore Archie Moore (born Archibald Lee Wright; December 13, 1913 – December 9, 1998) was an American professional boxer and the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time (December 1952 – May 1962). He had one of the longest ...

Marcel Cerdan Marcellin "Marcel" Cerdan (; 22 July 1916 – 28 October 1949) was a French professional boxer and world middleweight champion who was considered by many boxing experts and fans to be France's greatest boxer, and beyond to be one of the best to ...

and Jake LaMotta. When the

World Colored Middleweight Championship The World Colored Middleweight Championship was a title awarded to black boxers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was the only recognized middleweight championship available to blacks prior to Tiger Flowers (5 August 1895 - ...

was revived in the early 1940s, Charley Burley, who had been the colored welterweight champ, fought Williams for the title on 14 August 14, 1942 Burley won on a 9th-round TKO, the first time Williams was stopped in his career. Williams won the title on a decision in their rematch on 16 October 1942, then lost the title on 15 January 1943 to the

in a 12-round decision. Williams retired with a record of 146–31–11 with 36 knockouts with 1 no contest.

Death

On July 15, 1967 Williams was killed in a fire while asleep in the club where he worked.

Honors

Williams was elected into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996 and elected into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The ...

in 2008.

Professional boxing record

References

External links