Tremaine Williams

Over the past few years people have been declaring boxing in the US a dying sport. This is despite the high profile success of fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr and the rise (and rise) of Adrien Broner and Andre Ward. Another fighter expected by many to follow in their foot steps is teenager Tremaine Williams (3-0, 2) who many insiders are tipping as one of the sports genuinely elite talents.

The 19 year old Williams first came to prominence in the amateur side of the sport where he was a genuine super talent despite being so young. In fact it's fair to say that the first glimpse of Williams' superstar potential came back when he was just a 16 year old at the 2009 USA Junior National Championships. Despite failing to win the tournament Williams shone in the 52KG division making his way to the final before losing by a single point to Ray Ximenez.

After his success in the 2009 Junior championships a lot was expected from Williams going in to the 2010 US National PAL Championships, though sadly his tournament came to an early end after just a bout as he suffered a walk-over "loss" in the Quarter-Finals to John Herrera before Rau'shee Warren eventually won the tournament.

With the disappointment of the 2010 PAL Championships behind him, Williams had an outstanding 2011. He was sensational in the US National Golden Gloves winning the tournament in the 56KG division beating Gary Russell III (the younger brother of professional prospect Gary Russell) along the way. Sadly, despite his Golden Gloves triumph, Williams did fail at the Olympic Qualifiers, losing twice to O'Shanique Foster (the eventual runner up).

Having missed out on his Olympic dream, Williams wouldn't wait long to start his professional career and in April 2012 he made his debut in the paid ranks. On debut Williams was sensational stopping Jesse Anguiano in just 141 one sided seconds as he looked every bit the star in the making. Whilst it was one sided, no one could have asked to have seen more from Williams than what he showed with poise, patience and lightning quick speed.

Since his debut Williams has fought twice, defeating Theo Johnson (KO3) and Jazzma Hogue (UD4) to progress his record against limited opposition. This coming weekend Williams is set for yet another test of his professional abilities as he fights for the fourth time in the paid ranks. A win here is almost certain and will hopefully progress Williams to facing tougher fighters that won't be shell shocked by his speed and natural ability.

Whilst we've yet to see Williams tagged by anything notable it's unlikely that any opponent he is likely to face in the next 24 months will really be too testing. Expect him to be developed well by manager James Prince who knows how to guide a young fighter very well, and hopefully by the age of 22 Williams will have managed to get the attention of a major promoter and maybe even some TV exposure on ESPN.