When British heavy weight, Danny Williams stepped into the ring to face Mike Tyson, most experts believed that the talented fighter did not have a chance against the former undisputed champion of the world. Instead of buckling under the pressure, Danny stepped up to the challenge and knocked out Tyson.
Like his boxing, the soft spoken fighter’s approach is well thought out and very methodical. It is clear that fame and fortune has not got to Williams head, retaining a humble nature, and thinking about each answer before hitting the target with his replies. This attention to detail can be traced back to his childhood. “When I was born, my father had a dream for me to become the world champion.”
Although Williams admits that he didn’t enjoy boxing at first and only did it because his father pushed him into the sport, he soon found that he was good at it. Williams started training from the age of eight and used fighters like Rocky Marciano and Muhammed Ali as his role models.
Williams believes that bringing Islam into his life made him become a better fighter because it made him more comfortable. “I was always a nervous fighter. Since I have become a Muslim, I am more relaxed in the ring. I was so relaxed that I dreamt that I was going to knock Tyson out in the fourth or fifth round and it came true. I believe Allah fulfilled my dream.”
Born and raised in Brixton by his West Indian parents, Danny was brought up as a Christian with his two brothers and sister. Then he went on a whole new journey when he converted to Islam in 1999. “It was a gradual process. It took a few years of searching before I converted to Islam. I was not comfortable with the Bible because there seemed to be too many contradictions. I started reading about other religions and when I came across Islam, it grew on me.” Williams admits that an incident in Turkey, also guided him towards the faith. “I remember hearing the call to prayer and it gave me goose pimples.”
Although Williams found himself being drawn to Islam, for a short while there was a battle inside his head until he started to look for answers. “Every time I tried to prove the Islamic faith wrong, my belief in it became strengthened and there was an answer to every question I asked.
Williams cites South African Muslim scholar, Ahmed Deedat as one of his main inspirations in becoming a Muslim and reveals that his close family and friends were very supportive of his decision. “Most people could see it was going to happen, it was a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ I was going to do it. A few years later my wife converted and now she prays five times a day.”
