Boxing: Danny Williams's Win Over Mike Tyson Changed His Life "forever"

Danny Williams described his win over Mike Tyson as "the day that has changed my life forever" after a victory that catapulted the largely unsung former British and Commonwealth champion into the world top 10 and into a position where he will surely fight for one of the versions of the world heavyweight title before the end of the year.

"There are only two heavyweights who matter in the world now, Danny and Vitali Klitschko," Williams's promoter Frank Warren said last night. "We are hoping he will be back in the ring in October, and I will be doing what it takes to bring Danny the payday he deserves. Who says boxing is dead?"

Warren also said he would pay Williams out of his own pocket after the promoters gave the Briton only $70,000 (£38,400) of the $250,000 (£137,200) he had been promised for the fight in Louisville.

The 31-year-old Brixton fighter made his day complete when he ended his post-fight ring interview by proposing to his girlfriend Zoe, to which she tearfully answered: "Of course, I will".

"It still feels unbelievable to have beaten a guy I have been watching for years," Williams said. "But now I know that I will be able to make the money to provide for my family for the rest of my life. The greatest thing is that I won when nobody was giving me a chance.

"In the first round he caught me with a good shot but I held on, gritted my teeth and gave it back to him. I was told that it would get easier and easier as the rounds went by and that was the case. He was hitting me and it didn't seem to hurt as much as the previous round.

"Now I want a world title fight. Any of the champions would be good."