Williams gets snubbed by HBO

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 27, 1999 | 10:30 a.m.

It's both a curse and a blessing, but Arthur Williams' fan base is pretty much limited to the people who know him.

To them, he's a hero and a man whose determination eventually brought him the IBF cruiserweight championship.

To others, he's a journeyman on a hot streak and nothing more than a temporary champion.

Being slighted is nothing new to Williams, who will defend his title June 5 in Biloxi, Miss., on a card topped by the light heavyweight unification fight between Roy Jones and Reggie Johnson. HBO is televising that fight and one other from Biloxi, between IBF junior lightweight champ Robert Garcia and challenger Derrick Gainer, while ignoring Williams' fight with Olympic gold medalist Vassily Jirov.

While it could be said HBO is looking past the cruiserweight fight, Williams believes Jirov is too.

"I'm led to believe he thinks he can walk through me," Williams said this week. "He's listening to other people and they're looking at my age. He just doesn't know what he's in for."

Williams, 34, and a Las Vegas resident for a decade, is 30-4-1 with 22 KOs and has won six straight fights.

Jirov, a left-hander from Kazakhstan, is 20-0 with 18 of those wins by KO.

Two noted boxing oddsmakers, Herbie Lambeck and Graham Houston, each makes the champion the underdog in a fight he didn't have to take.

"It's not a mandatory fight for me, but I told them OK," Williams said. "I've never backed away from a fight and there's no reason to start now. I've been in the game a long time and I've been in a lot of tough fights.

"I think Jirov picked the wrong guy to try and win a championship from."

Williams believes his experience will be the difference in the bout.

"I'm one of the best -- if not the best -- fighter in my division," he said. "I've been the underdog before and come out on top, so that doesn't worry me. Look at all the guys I was supposed to lose to: Rick Roufus, Adolfo Washington, Imamu Mayfield and some other guys from a few years ago."

Williams is a game fighter who always gives his best. He rose through the ranks of Las Vegas club fights to earn a pair of title fights with Orlin Norris in 1994, losing the first by disputed decision and the second by third-round knockout.

After an ensuing loss as a heavyweight, to Chris Byrd, Williams' career looked to be down for the count. But he bounced back with a huge win over Washington last year and followed that up by knocking out Mayfield in the ninth round Oct. 30 in Biloxi.

This will be his second title defense.

"He'll box a little bit," he said of Jirov. "He throws looping punches. He doesn't throw any straight lefts; they're all kind of round. He also drops his hands and leans back a little bit."

Williams has taken that scouting report and isolated himself at a training site at the foot of Mt. Charleston, where he has been living the last few weeks.

"I may be 34, but I don't feel 34," he said. "I feel like I'm in my prime and I don't feel old at all. I know I've got a couple of good years left.

"I'll show this kid I'm not done."