Arthur seeks his crown
We’re not talking Camelot, but when “King” Arthur Williams steps in the ring tonight in the Coeur d’Alene Casino’s House of Fury, make no mistake: He’s on a quest.
Williams, the former USBA and IBF World Cruiserweight Champion from Pensacola, Fla., makes no bones about his mission: “I want to get back into the top-10 rankings and …fight for the championship.”
Tonight he faces Mead’s Luke Munsen in the casino’s six-bout card, which begins at 7 p.m. Williams is the toughest challenger Munsen has faced.
Williams, 38-12-1, knocked out Imamu Mayfield to win the world title in 1998, and lost it to Vassiliy Jirov. Since that time he twice fought O’Neill Bell for the NABF cruiserweight title.
Williams lost a controversial decision to Orlin Norris for the WBA cruiserweight title in 1994 and dropped a split decision to IBF Heavyweight champion Chris Byrd in 1995.
In all, “King” Arthur has fought for a title 10 times – exactly nine more than his opponent tonight.
Munsen, 16-2, lost to Chad Van Sickle on July 30 at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma with the WBC Continental Americas Cruiserweight Title on the line.
Williams comes into tonight’s fight looking to stop a three-fight losing streak. Last month he dropped a 10-round decision to Charles Davis in Oakland, Calif. In May he lost in a TKO to David Haye in Reading, Berkshire, England, and before that to Vadim Tokarev in Kazan, Russia.
“I can’t afford another loss,” Williams said. “I’m hungry. I need this win.”
Williams knows there are machinations behind the various rankings in professional boxing and that cracking the top 10 can be as much political as it can be objective.
“That’s what you have managers and promoters for,” he said. “You can’t think about that. You have to just concentrate on winning your fight and then winning your next fight.”
Among today’s other action, Boise’s Byron Sutherland (1-1) faces Danny Zee (1-0-1) of Los Angeles in a middleweight bout; Spokane’s Rafeal Cansino makes his professional debut in a middleweight bout with Portland’s Curtis Frost (3-3); and Jeremy Munsen, Luke’s brother, makes his professional debut against heavyweight Cainan Monroe.