43 Facts About Ike Williams

Isiah "Ike" Williams was an American professional boxer.

Ike Williams took the World Lightweight Championship in April 1945 and made eight successful defenses of the title against six different fighters prior to losing the championship to Jimmy Carter in 1951.

Ike Williams was the Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year for 1948, was inducted into The Ring Boxing Hall of Fame, and was an inaugural 1990 inductee to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Ike Williams was born in Brunswick, Georgia, on August 2,1923.

Ike Williams did not turn professional until 1940 when he began boxing in Trenton, New Jersey.

Ike Williams was inducted into the US Army after a close non-title win against the great lightweight Sammy Angott by ten-round decision at Shibe Park in Philadelphia on September 6,1944, though he continued regular professional boxing during his service.

Ike Williams won the NBA World Lightweight Championship before a crowd of 35,000 by a second-round knockout of Juan Zurita in Mexico City on April 18,1945.

Ike Williams made a two fisted attack to the head of Zurita in the second which Zurita could not hold off, though he had made an effective defense in the first round.

Shortly after Zurita was counted out, Ike Williams' corner was crowded by fans, and several policeman were required to clear the ring before Ike Williams could return to his dressing room.

On September 23,1948, Ike Williams successfully defended his Lightweight title against Jesse Flores winning in a tenth-round technical knockout at Yankee Stadium in New York's Bronx.

On July 21,1949, Ike Williams defended his title against Enrique Bolanos winning in a fourth-round technical knockout before a crowd of near 19,000 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles.

On December 5,1949, Ike Williams defeated Freddy Dawson in a close fifteen-round decision before 10,389 fans at Convention Hall in Philadelphia.

Ike Williams had defeated Dawson twice in previous meetings and led in the early betting.

Ike Williams was fined by the boxing commission for informing the press of the possible bribe before he had first informed the commission.

On January 17,1949, Ike Williams first defeated Johhny Bratton by a comfortable margin in the Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a ten-round decision before a satisfied crowd of 8,000 fans.

Ike Williams had taken a two-month lay-off from his fight schedule to help heal a broken hand.

On January 20,1950, before a crowd of 12,000 at Chicago Stadium, Ike Williams won an eighth-round technical knockout against Bratton who was forced to leave the ring with a broken jaw.

Ike Williams hammered his opponent particularly hard in the second and seventh rounds, and was comfortably ahead on points, losing only one of the eight rounds fought to Bratton.

Ike Williams held on to the crown until May 25,1951, when he was stopped by Jimmy Carter in a fourteenth-round technical knockout at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Ike Williams had been sent to the canvas four times before the fight was called.

Ike Williams was down for a count of five and eight in the fifth.

Ike Williams was down for a count of four and then six in the fourteenth before the referee ended the fight.

Ike Williams believed that his trouble making weight had weakened him for the fight.

Palermo informed him he could resolve his problems with the guild, and Ike Williams agreed to let Palermo manage him.

Ike Williams testified before the Kefauver Commission that Palermo did not arrange for him to throw any fights, but that he shorted him his share of his purses.

Nevertheless, Ike Williams did claim to have taken a dive against Chuck Davey, a much hyped contender for the welterweight crown.

In 1961 Ike Williams testified before Congress on antitrust in boxing.

Ike Williams explained that he could not get a fight because he did not use a manager and that he could not book a fight until he found a manager from the manager's guild.

Ike Williams explained that he did not receive his share of his purse in two fights which included Jesse Flores in Yankee Stadium, for the lightweight title on September 23,1948, and Beau Jack at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, on July 12,1948, and September 23,1948.

Ike Williams testified he told the boxing association to temporarily hold on to the money for these two fights for tax purposes.

Ike Williams still had to pay the taxes on his share of the profits, though he never received them.

Ike Williams further testified that his manager was offered $30,000 for him to throw a championship fight against Freddy Dawson in Philadelphia on December 5,1949, though he declined.

Ike Williams testified that ten minutes before the fight he heard the judges being told if he did not win by a knock out that the fight would go to Dawson.

Ike Williams won the fight and told the media afterwards that he had heard a rumor that the fight would be fixed to go to Dawson by decision of the judges if he did not win by a knockout.

Ike Williams believed that the Judges upon hearing that he called the media decided to not fix the fight by giving an unfair decision to Dawson.

Nonetheless, Ike Williams was fined $500 for his comments to the media.

Ike Williams recalled a fight against Kid Gavilan on January 28,1949, at Madison Square Garden, in which he was offered $100,000 to throw the fight.

Again, Ike Williams did not take the money, an action he regretted because he lost the fight even though a plurality of reporters in subsequent news stories that cover the fight believed he had won.

Ike Williams believed he lost his lightweight title in a bout with the boxer Jimmy Carter on May 25,1951, in a bout where the judges were influenced.

Ike Williams testified he was again offered to throw the fight, for a sum of $50,000.

Again, Ike Williams said he regretted not taking the money as he lost the fight in a similar fashion as before.

Ike Williams testified he never took the money offered to him to fix fights because too many people were counting on him and that too many of his friends had bet their hard earned money on him.

Ike Williams died on September 5,1994, at his home in the Wilshire District of Los Angeles of natural causes.