KONSTANTIN AIRICH vs DANNY WILLIAMS

It is something of a come-down for a boxer who knocked out Mike Tyson, but for the second time in five months Danny Williams is being brought in as the opponent when he meets unbeaten Kazakh heavyweight Konstantin Airich in an eight-rounder in Spain on Friday.

In December, Williams went to Switzerland to meet the unbeaten Oleg Platov and might have won had it not been for his opponent getting cut in a clash of heads, resulting in a “no contest” verdict.

Here Williams is again on the right-hand side of the fight posters, just two months before his British title defence against John McDermott.

Some might consider the match with Airich ill-advised, but Williams has been around a long time and one must assume he knows what he’s doing.

Williams is certainly far more experienced than Airich, but his German-domiciled opponent is the house fighter on a show staged by Hamburg’s Arena Box-Promotion and I would consider him the slight favourite — the fight has been made for him to win.

Airich is a stand-up boxer who hits hard with the right hand, and the Arena people obviously took note of the way Williams wobbled early in his fight with Platov. This is an ambitious match for Airich, but he is 29 and I suppose now is as good a time as any to see how he performs at a higher level.

Williams has fought in world class, which is to his advantage, but the 34-year-old from south London is well known for having off-nights when he performs far below his best, and it will suit Airich’s camp if the veteran has such a night on Friday.

The problem with Williams is that he sometimes just doesn’t seem mentally ready to fight. This was especially the case in his rematch with Audley Harrison, who destroyed him in three rounds.

In his next fight, though, Williams was trimmed-down and focused when he knocked out the previously unbeaten Scott Gammer.

In trouble early against Platov, Williams was coming back strongly when the fight ended unsatisfactorily.

Then, in his last fight, Williams apparently looked slow and sluggish when outpointing trial horse Marcus McGee.

Williams is very good when he is “on” but ordinary when he isn’t.

No one can be sure which version of Williams will show up until the fight starts, which makes Friday’s fight a gamble worth taking for Airich’s promoter.

Airich’s eight KO wins have come against low-grade boxers. He boxed a draw with the world amateur championships silver medallist Alex Mazikin, who had given well-regarded Taras Bidenko a close fight. However, Mazikin was knocked out in one round by Cuban prospect Odlanier Solis, which either makes Solis look extremely good or Mazikin nothing much.

In his last fight, Airich outpointed a Ukrainian who had just three wins in his last 11 fights. Williams is a big step up from anyone Airich has fought, but the British champion’s unreliability makes this a highly winnable fight.

My guess is that Williams will show up looking to do the business, as they say in London, but this is a fight where heavy punches are likely to be given and taken and anything can happen. Williams could well have one of his shaky starts but I believe his natural ability and top-level experience will get him home, probably on points, although one can never pick Danny to win with any real confidence.

RESULT: Williams TKO7.