Sunday, October 17, 1999
Cincinnati boxer shows why he's No. 1
BY JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ricardo Williams Jr. showed the locals why he is ranked No.1 in the nation and No.3 in the world at 139 pounds.
Williams defeated Anthony Shuler of Indianapolis in the second round of their three-round bout at the Mount Auburn Community Center on Saturday night.
Shuler was forced to retire after Round 2 because of a shoulder injury.
“I wanted to put on a good show for people because I knew this might be the last time I fight in Cincinnati as an amateur,” Williams said.
Williams spent most of the first round measuring his opponent and then waded in for the kill as the second round began.
“A lot of boxers who fight at home let the crowd excite 'em too much, so I took my time to avoid getting caught (by a punch),” Williams said. “After I knew what kind of power he had, I moved in.”
Williams' straight left hands behind Shuler's jabs were devastating, and the body shots took their toll, too.
Dante Craig, who is second nationally in the 147-pound weight class, was named the night's “outstanding boxer,” after ending his fight a minute into the third round against Mark Scott of Shamrock Gym in Covington. They staggered one another in the first round.
Craig nailed Scott with a series of double jabs in the second and then nailed him with a right uppercut in the third. Referee Tom Cleary stopped it.
“Ricardo and I were talking (Friday) about how we both wanted to win the "outstanding boxer,'” Craig said. “The only reason I won it was because I had the better opponent.”
Craig and Williams will both fight in the American Boxing Classic in Milwaukee in two weeks, and will then begin concentrating on the Olympic Trials in Florida in February.
James Helms, ranked 5th nationally at 132, beat Gabe Norris of Toledo. Helms, too, is an Olympic hopeful.
“Staying in the gym, keeping up the roadwork, those are the keys for me,” Helms said.
Jeshawn Johnson, 14, who fights out of Millvale, put on a good show in the 139-pound class, too. He beat Robert Homer, 16, of Indianapolis.
“I knew I had to take it to him because he had a weight advantage,” said Johnson, who won the St. Louis Black Expo last month. “But I've sparred with 24-year-olds in the gym, so I knew I could beat him.”
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