CARL WILLIAMS
Date / site: July 21, 1989 / Convention Center, Atlantic City, N.J.
Division: Heavyweight
Records: Tyson 36-0, Williams 22-2
At stake: Tyson’s IBF, WBA and WBC titles
Result: Tyson TKO 1
Background: “The Truth” was a capable, good-sized heavyweight with mixed results against his best opponents going into the fight, including a unanimous-decision loss to Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title. Williams was familiar with Tyson. The two had sparred when Williams was a young pro and Tyson an amateur. Williams had a good jab. He wanted to use it to control the fight and tie Tyson up when they were inside. He never had much of a chance to see whether the strategy would work. About a minute into the fight Tyson slipped a jab and landed a monstrous left hook that put Williams on his pants. He had trouble getting up but managed to do so. Referee Randy Neumann, looking Williams in the face, didn’t like what he saw and stopped the fight. Some argued that the stoppage with premature but the punch was legit. Who could’ve guessed that the following February in Tokyo Buster Douglas would shock the world?