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THE WINDY CITY SHOWDOWN: WILLIAMS, FONFARA SPEAK
December 14, 2011
By Jesse Kelley

 

The Windy City showdown between Phil "The Drill" Williams (11-4-1, 10 KO's) and Andrzej "The Polish Prince" Fonfara (19-2, 10 KO's) is fast approaching. The two light heavyweights will meet in this Friday's main event, which is promoted by 8 Count Productions at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago, Illinois.

The spotlight bout between Fonfara and Williams was originally set to go down last September but Williams says that he felt he didn't have proper time to prepare, so opted not to take the bout.

"I will fight anyone when given the right time" said Williams. "Look at the guys I have fought. My record speaks for itself. I'm not afraid of anyone. Anybody that knows me, knows that. I got the last fight on two weeks notice which wasn't enough time to get ready. This time is a different story."

Despite Williams opting out of the first scheduled meeting, Fonfara and his team say they are still eager to get in the ring with the Minneapolis fighter.

"He (Williams) did back out last time without any rational explanation" said Fonfara. "So finding a replacement wasn’t easy. But we found Jose Spearman with whom I beat in 2 rounds by TKO. Why did I give him (Williams) another chance? Well after all, he’s a good fighter; he switches positions so this will be a good thing for me to fight with a lefty."

It will be a clash of opposites with the two big punchers enter the ring. Williams, 34, stands 5'11 out of a southpaw stance but frequently switches to orthodox. Fonfara on the other hand is 10 years younger at 24, stands 6'2, and looks to land his big right hand from an orthodox stance. Fonfara says he has studied Williams closely while "The Drill" stated that he doesn't know much about his opponent.

"Yes I saw a couple of his fights" said the Warsaw, Poland born Fonfara. "He won 10 of 11 fights by KO so definitely he is a heavy puncher. But so I am. He lost I think four of his last fights, losing to Donavan George who’s a friend of mine. But at the same time he had more than 8 weeks to prepare for this fight so I know that he’ll do everything in his power to win this fight and get back on track. I had a lot of time also to prepare as well and I am going to end this year with another victory."

"I don't study film so I don't really know anything about Fonfara" said Williams. "I got prepared for this fight the best I could with the right amount of time. So it doesn't really matter who I am fighting. I know what I need to do in the ring. The fight is at my best weight, I feel strong. I can't wait to get in the ring on Friday night."

And Williams will be entering hostile territory when he does get in the ring with Fonfara. "The Polish Prince" has a large and growing following in the Windy City. But Fonfara says that it is not just the Polish community that has begun to rally around him.

"I remember my first fights back in 2006 at the Cicero Stadium in Chicago. Not a lot of people knew me so the only fans that I had was my brother, my girlfriend, and some of ours closest friends. I would say about 20-30 people. Now as the time went by, I become more and more popular. More people are recognizing me and it’s not only in the Polish community. But it’s only because I’ve been working hard and winning fight after fight. I am a lucky man to have such a supportive team The energy at the fights is electrifying. I am fighting for them and I would like to thank them for all of the support. I have to admit that it is going to be hard for Phil to come here; the pressure will be on, and it can harm his psychological confidence."

Despite the differences between Fonfara and Williams, both head into this fight presumably in top shape and fighting at their best weights. So there should be no excuses from either guy afterwards in that respect. However, it is the similarity in power that both fighters have in their fists that could make this fight one to remember.

"I look at this fight like it's the beginning of the second half of my career" said Williams. "I am back at light heavyweight where I belong and where I know I can knock anybody out. I have been forced to fight below my weight recently just to get fights with these guys. It was the only way I could get these guys in the ring with me. I have been working hard (sparring with guys like Matt Vanda and Cerresso Fort) but now I am back to the weight were I was knocking guys out. And that's the kind of victory I am predicting."

Fonfara also talked about the move to light heavyweight a few fights ago and his recent sparring with Danny Green.

"Moving up in weight was the best decision I’ve ever made. First of all I was still growing and developing muscle and maturing so losing a lot of pounds (15-20) before the fight was really devastating to me. Besides I couldn’t work on my power since I was losing all that weight. So definitely moving up in weight was beneficial to me. First of all I am stronger, I don’t have to lose that much weight, I become faster. As far as the preparation for this fight I spent about 5 weeks in Australia helping Danny Green to prepare for his past fight. That was a great opportunity for me to spent some time on my trainings. I’ve learned a lot, got more confident thanks to sparring with Danny. So yeah, I am prepared for this fight in 120% and the improvements will be visible in the ring on December 16th. "

 

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