Peter-Williams: Tension rising!

November 30, 2004

By Andre Courtemanche

“Come December 4, at Mandalay Bay, I will show the world and Samuel Peter what big-time heavyweight boxing is about.” Jeremy Williams

“Thanks to Showtime for the opportunity to show my greatness. Tell my fans I will be coming to show them what I can do.” Sam Peter

Tempers flared between two heavyweight bangers destined to collide Saturday in Las Vegas, on the blockbuster Castillo vs. Casamayor show’s undercard.

Jeremy “Half Man Half Amazing” Williams, 41-4-1 (36), and Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter, 20-0 (17) traded threats and insults during a conference to hype their upcoming showdown for the NABF Heavyweight championship.

“I really don’t think Samuel Peter punches that hard. He couldn’t stop Jovo Pudar, he couldn’t stop Charles Shufford. He stepped up just a little against those guys and he couldn’t stop either of them,” said Williams. “You have to look at the caliber of the guys he’s fighting and he’s not stopping them. It was ten rounds of monotony against both of them.”

“I was trying to show my greatness (against Pudar). People were saying I was a four-round fighter,” replied Peter. “I showed my greatness. I wanted my fans to enjoy me for a little longer. But you…you will meet the real Samuel Peter.”

A delicious opening act in what will surely be a terrific night of boxing; the heavyweight slugfest will be followed by an all-action shootout between Omar Sheika and newly crowned IBF supermiddleweight champ Jeff Lacy and then the Castillo/Casamayor battle.

Peter vs. Williams will feature two of heavyweight boxing’s biggest punchers, one at the beginning of his career and one who remains very useful heading into his fourteenth year of fighting professionally. “I’m not concerned with anybody’s power at this point,” Williams explained. “It all comes down to who is smarter, who is faster, and who can think their way through a fight. Samuel Peter is a good fighter, but not better than me and on that night, I will show him what top caliber fighting is all about.”

Twenty four-year-old Peter, who says he grew up idolizing fellow Nigerian and all-time great Dick Tiger, has thus far been a steamrolling force among boxing’s big men, bowling over opponents with ease. And in fairness, while Pudar and Shufford did see the final bell, neither seemed very interested in winning. “I like Jeremy a lot. I respect him a lot,” said Peter’s promoter, Dino Duva. “We go back a long way. Jeremy is trying to psyche Sam out. (If he thinks Sam can’t punch) tell him to stick his chin out and see what happens.”

“This is the right time for me to prove who I am and what I can do in the future,” continued Peter. “I don’t see anybody who can beat Samuel Peter.”

Coming off of impressive wins over 35-1 Andre Purlette and 29-1 Attila Levin, Williams says that Peter is in for a surprise on December 4. “Any fool can go in the ring and get knocked out. I’ve fought 20 Samuel Peters. What he does, I’ve seen before. I can get 20 sparring partners to do exactly what he does. He can’t find one who fights like me. Although Sam Peter may be very good and may have a huge career in front of him, it doesn’t start with a victory over me. It won’t happen. Andre Purlette. I knocked him out. I beat him and the officials. Attila Levin, it wasn’t a contest. And now we have Sam Peter, who I believe Attila Levin would beat Samuel Peter. He’s too one-dimensional.”

“You’re saying that because you watched me on tape?” countered Peter. “You never met Samuel Peter. You know what? I promise you I’m going to eat you alive. Shufford and Pudar are past tense. We’re in the present now.”

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The Jose Luis Castillo vs. Joel Casamayor; Jeff Lacy vs. Omar Sheika and Jeremy Williams vs. Samuel Peter bouts will be shown live on the Showtime network, Saturday, December 4, 2004, at 9:00 PM ET/PT from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.