Williams Fiddles, Nearly Gets Burned Before Beating Davis

Jeremy Williams knocked Everton Davis down with a left jab in the first round Friday night and acted like a guy eager to cash his paycheck.

“You figure it’s going to be an easy night,” Williams said.

Williams, 22, obviously has a lot to learn on the road back to heavyweight contention.

After clowning with his opponent and winking at ringside photographers, he suddenly found himself on the ropes, fighting for his future, before rallying to knock out Davis at 59 seconds of the ninth round before an announced crowd of 1,531 at the Grand Olympic Auditorium.

Davis (9-5, 7 knockouts), a 29-year-old unknown who has made a living sparring with Riddick Bowe, knocked Williams down in the fourth and then stunned him in the the fifth with a jarring right to the jaw as the bell sounded.

Williams, from Long Beach, collapsed against the ropes and needed every second between rounds to regain his senses.

Then, he basically took the sixth round off, preferring to dance.

Williams (20-1, 7 KOs) gained control of the fight in the seventh and dropped Davis twice in the eighth before referee Pat Russell stepped in to stop the bout in the ninth.

Williams admitted he got careless.

“I learned you have to take everyone seriously,” Williams said. “Even if you got a guy hurt, or have the upper hand, or have superior speed, you cannot take a guy easily.”

Joe Goossen, his trainer, said he will dissect the tape of Friday’s fight and review what was won and, more important, what was almost lost.

“When you consider the fruits of your labor you can get in this division, the thought of that going down the drain with a little mistake is a little unsettling, to say the least,” Goossen said.