Michael Williams Jr 21-1 Faces Michael Whitt 32-2-2 For The NBA Welterweight Championship Title Belt In Fayetteville, NC.
Love boxing or hate boxing, professional boxing returns to North Carolina in championship style Saturday, October 21, 2023 at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina! And, whether you love Michael Williams Jr or wish him ill will, Williams Jr is carrying the torch for professional boxing in North Carolina.
As they always seem to do, Williams Jr and his team raised the bar for professional boxing in North Carolina. After professional boxing took a three year hiatus from the state of North Carolina, Team Williams Jr put on the first pro boxing show in North Carolina. On August 12, 2023, Williams Jr delighted a jam packed ball room with a highlight reel stoppage of Ricardo David Ocampo. While Ocampo as an opponent might not have been what hardcore boxing fans wanted, he (Ocampo 12-13 7 KO’s) was exactly what North Carolina boing needed – a much needed WIN! Williams Jr delivered, and North Carolina boxing fans are frothing at the mouth for more.
Michael Williams Jr. 150% and his promoter/trainer/marketing guru father, Michael Williams Sr 300%, are ready to deliver. “Other promoters will step up, but right now, for my son, nobody is doing anything, so we are “doing” it. We are the ones taking the chances and entertaining North Carolina. This is hard work, but for my son, I will do it and it is worth it,” said Williams Sr.
What team Williams Jr has done is put together an entertaining night of professional boxing mixed with some local legend grudge matches. Ah, but the crown jewel in this potentially electrifying night of boxing is the return of professional championship style boxing when Fayetteville, North Carolina’s own Michael Williams Jr faces Juan Manuel Witt for the NBA welterweight championship belt.
All the non-believers, naysayers, trash talkers, and skeptics (including myself) need to shut our mouths about Williams Jr’s opponent on this one. In Witt, Williams Jr faces a tough fighter who knows how to win. Witt has won thirty two (32) of his thirty six (36) professional fights. Witt has only faced defeat in two of those fights. The two losses were in title fights against fighters with a combined winning record of 58-11-3. Witt’s most recent loss was to the well known and talented Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna 36-5-1 (16 KO’s). If you think Witt’s wins were against suspect opposition, he has beaten the exact same type of fighters Williams Jr has.
To say this is a step up in levels for Williams Jr, is an understatement. This fight is not a guaranteed bum of the month, tomato can, independent opponent money, promised win for Williams Jr. What it is – is the challenge Williams Jr needs to take, and the challenge his fans and non-fans need to see him to take to validate Michael Williams Jr 150% has moved from talented prospect status to true, contender status.
Folks, get your popcorn ready. Go to the Crown Coliseum to get your tickets. Because after this Williams Jr Witt showdown on Saturday, October 21, 2023, the next question we will all be asking, can he do this to Adrian Broner, Thomas Lamanna, or Ryan Garcia?
By Chris Williams
1 year removed from my battle with cancer and back to covering the great sport of boxing
