By MICHAEL PARENTE
Sports Writer

LINCOLN — Those who watched Aaron Williams dispose of Andre Purlette on Friday night on ESPN might’ve recognized the short right hook he used to score the winning knockout.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. dropped Ricky Hatton with a similar punch — albeit with his left hand — in December, a fight that caught Williams’ attention as he trained for Friday’s co-feature on Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports “Heavy Hitters” card at the Twin River Events Center.

“I worked on that in the gym a lot,” Williams said. “I watched all the Floyd Mayweather fights and watched how he put it down. I did what I was supposed to do and caught him at the right time. I’ve been in the gym working on it, and it paid off.”
While Mayweather, a welterweight, is arguably the best fighter in the world pound-for-pound, Williams is carving his own niche in the competitive cruiserweight division.

Living up to his nickname, “Awesome,” Williams broke down Purlette on Friday with consecutive overhand rights to the temple, then sent him to the canvas with a big right hook midway through the second round. Purlette beat the 10 count, but was visibly rattled as the fight continued. The referee stopped it with 10 seconds remaining in the round following another flurry in the center of the ring, keeping Williams undefeated at 17-0-1.

“He’s washed up,” Williams said. “His record looks good, but I did what I had to do. I did what I was supposed to do. I showed I am a true prospect and I showed it against a proven fighter.

“I fought a true veteran. He’s tough. He’s been there and done that, and I’m trying to get where he’s at by fighting and doing some of the things he’s accomplished. I’ll take it one fight at a time. The sky’s the limit for me.”

Friday’s victory was the biggest of Williams’ young career, a major knockout on national television against his toughest opponent to date. Purlette, a former North American Boxing Organization champion, entered the fight with a 40-2-0 record and 35 knockouts.

“As far as being a professional, he’s probably the biggest name I fought,” Williams said. “I was just going to do what I was supposed to do, and that’s fight. I leave everything else to my managers and them, CES boxing and Jimmy Burchfield.”

Williams, an Ohio native, viewed Friday’s fight as his “coming out party,” and the win could do wonders for his blossoming career. Fellow CES stable-mate Matt Godfrey, who turned 27 in January, needed only 16 fights to rise to the top of the cruiserweight division before losing to Rudolf Kraj in a World Boxing Council title eliminator last month in Germany; Williams already has 18 professional fights under his belt at the age of 21.

“I don’t keep up with none of that. I just fight,” Williams said. “I really don’t watch fighters today. The fighters I watch are old-school. Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, my trainer; Sugar Ray Leonard; Sugar Ray Robinson; Floyd Mayweather; Muhammad Ali — those are the guys I look up to.

“I let my trainer take care of that. I just fight. You’ve got to understand, Matt is (six) years older than me, and he came up before me, so he’s supposed to be ahead of me anyway. We’re good friends. He does what he does, and I do what I do.”
Gleaning tips from Mayweather is only a small part of Williams’ meteoric rise. After winning 10 of his first 11 fights, he began training under Muhammad, a former World Boxing Association light heavyweight champion who fought Jerry Martin and Michael Spinks during his 16-year career. Since then, Williams has won his last six fights — four by knockout — including Friday’s victory over Purlette. He also beat DeLeon Tinsley with a second round TKO at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in June and knocked out previously-unbeaten Ryan Carrol in just 2 minutes, 18 seconds in October.

“He’s helped me a lot. I’ve been with Eddie for a year and some months, and he works real hard,” Williams said. “Everything he used to do, he puts into me, and it shows in the ring. I’m real happy with everything.

“I’ve progressed. I’ve had my best fights with Eddie. We talk a lot. Everything we put into this and work on, it shows in the fight.”

Williams’ knockout on Friday eerily resembled Mayweather’s victory over Hatton in December. With Mayweather backed into a corner, Hatton tried to land a big right hook, but missed badly, exposing the right side of his face. Mayweather calmly slid to his left, and dropped Hatton with a quick left hook. Hatton got up, but the fight ended 29 seconds later following a second knockdown and an appropriate stoppage by referee Joe Cortez.

Williams found himself in a similar position Friday, backed up against the ropes as Purlette began unloading with a series of combinations. When Purlette missed with an overhand left, Williams caught him with two quick right hooks to the side of the head before landing the knockout punch.

“Boxing’s all about timing,” Williams said. “If you catch a guy at the right time in the right place, anything can happen. That’s what my whole game plan was. I’m not trying to go every round if I don’t have to. Tonight, it showed.”

The timing couldn’t be better for Williams, who scored an important victory Friday in front of a national audience to continue his rise to the top of the cruiserweight division. What’s next for the 21-year-old prospect? The sky’s the limit following a thrilling knockout even Floyd Mayweather Jr. would’ve been proud of.

“I’m just taking it one fight at a time,” Williams said. “I’ll let (my manager) deal with that. I’m just going to go out and have fun and do what I do.”