DOMESTIC DYNAMITE... HIDE vs WILLIAMS VERY MUCH IN THE WORKS... By Stephen Jones

Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno's heavyweight championship fight a decade ago was a good example of high profile patriot games for our countries frosty embrace, Lennox  v Gary Mason 2 years prior was another great example for the  "Best of British" halo, and I could go on. One thing is for sure, they are crowd pullers, must see events that stir huge interest, titles or no titles, they always seem to capture the public's imagination one way or another.  In this high tech computer age I doubt even Sony or Nintendo together could bring you a better shoot'em up  than the soon to be staged Herbie Hide v Danny Williams domestic tear up.

When Danny was the reigning British and Commonwealth Gatekeeper everyone was respectful in queuing for a shot at the proud champion. Audley Harrison seemed destined for the role down the line as challenger but that fight lost its luster when Danny was mugged of his titles in a third bout with Mike Sprott less than a month ago. The lack of silverware involved in a Harrison - Williams fight has taken all of the Bling factor away from that rivalry. 

Herbie Hide was an ace away from securing a fight in the top mix , but as always with Herbie, his mouth, bad choices, chronic bridge burning and a couple of horrendous outings has made Mr. Hide the most celebrated member of the who needs him club on the British heavyweight scene.

The Platinum card holder in the British heavyweight money making machine has to belong to one Mr. Audley Harrison and Hide hasn't made any of the right moves to make a fight between the two a mouth-watering reality, with other avenues looking more lucrative for Harrison in the U.S. Hide really is out in the cold on that score. So with both Williams and Hide seeking motivation and direction to revamp their careers the recently muted match seems the natural solution,  a very spicy pairing indeed considering their past history.

For those unfamiliar: Several years ago as a fledgling pro, a young wide eyed Danny Williams was hired as a sparring partner for the then WBO heavyweight champion Herbie Hide. According to Danny, Herbie attempted to belittle and bully Williams by going all out in heated gym sessions dropping the novice heavyweight to bolster his own self esteem in one particular sparring incident, something Danny never forgot.....  Years later in a similar predicament  Danny stood his ground, and in Hide's second reign as Heavyweight champion whilst preparing for his ill fated defence against the current heir apparent Vitali Klitschko of Russia, Herbie once again turned up the volume in an open gym session only to have a taste of his own medicine rammed down his throat when he was forced to take a quick trip to the mat courtesy of a Williams hook..... Not to be upstaged by the young pretender, a maniacal  Herbie, furious and embarrassed by Danny's audacity savagely attempted to meet fire with fire only to suffer the unthinkable.. Danny knocked the WBO Champion out cold with a single shot, an action that many think may have contributed to the Norwich fighter's early exit against the giant Russian.

So you can see, Danny and Herbie aren't buddies and probably never will be. Birthday, Christmas and Valentine's cards aren't on either fighters lists of priorities anytime soon to put it bluntly.

The fight is good timing wise for both men, since losing by a horrendous KO to the burly Turk, Sinan Samil San in Germany, Danny did pin hopes on a Championship rematch against Samil San sometime soon, but those hopes took a lashing last weekend when the Euro holder San was arrested of his strap by unheralded German Luan Krasniqui, leaving Williams v San 2 pointless, and strapless..  Hide's KO loss to Joseph Chinghangu a couple of years ago also cost proud Herbie some of his dignity leaving question marks around his punch resistance.

Danny and Herbie are out in the wilderness as far as the world scene goes for now, Herbie's Championship days were shot down years ago, whereas Danny's championship days never really took off; at this point in time they really do need each other to apply some credibility to each other's careers respectively.  Both are solid punchers with questionable punch resilience, they are sure to bring a heated duel while it lasts.

It's Kill or be Killed in a fight where losing is not an option, a proper shoot'em up with no baubles attached. Be warned, with Herbie's history, anything can and most probably will happen,  expect high drama , and don't blink.

NB:  Neither Herbie Hide's promoter Mick Hennessey nor William's promoter Frank Warren won the purse bids to stage the match. It was lesser known Jess Harding , the man behind Audley Harrison's early Promotions with A-Force who out bid the pair to stage the soon to be announced bout.

Another point of interest...... in 1989 Jess was Herbie's first ever sparring partner when the young Amateur heavyweight walked in off the street to Matchroom Promotions HQ in Essex and demanded an audition to turn pro under Barry Hearns' promotional umbrella. The 17-year old Hide gave such a good account of himself against the well established Harding in a workout session that Barry Hearn signed him almost immediately. How situations amazingly change 15 years on.