Holman Williams

CTL-E-7067 · Person · other · 1915–1967

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07939 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-7067.

Holman Williams was born January 30, 1915 in Pensacola, Florida and, The Ring's biography carried by the International Boxing Hall of Fame states, was a product of Detroit boxing, where his family moved in the early 1920s; he began as an amateur bantamweight in 1928 and turned professional as a featherweight in 1932. The Hall biography states plainly that Williams, 'avoided by the champions of his day, never received a title bout,' while fighting many of the best welterweights, middleweights and light heavyweights of his time — a leading member of the group later called Black Murderers' Row. With, the Hall states, an excellent jab, deft footwork and taut defense, he scored victories over Cocoa Kid, Charley Burley, Kid Tunero, Lloyd Marshall, Eddie Booker, Steve Belloise, Bob Satterfield and Archie Moore; BoxRec records that he and Burley fought seven times between 1939 and 1945, three wins apiece and one no-contest. Trainer Eddie Futch, per BoxRec, said he would rather watch Williams shadowbox than watch most other fighters in action. The Hall lists his record as 145-30-11 with 1 no-contest and 35 knockouts; he retired in 1948, died in a fire on July 15, 1967, and was inducted in 2008.

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0453. Firsts disposition: none claimed. Exclusion disposition: CENTRAL — IBHOF/The Ring: 'Avoided by the champions of his day… never received a title bout,' carried verbatim-attributed; the Murderers' Row grouping is carried as the later collective label for the avoided Black contenders of the 1940s, not as a contemporary fact. Burley series split (binding): the packet brief's 'six meetings per most accounts' vs BoxRec's seven recorded meetings 1939-1945 (3-3, one no-contest) and TSS's 'three of six' — description rides BoxRec's seven with attribution and the six-meeting accounts are flagged here, never blended; the same split is flagged in S7-40. Vitals split: record — IBHOF 145-30-11 (35 KOs, 187 bouts) vs 146-31-11 (36 KOs, 189 bouts) in BoxRec-derived compilations; description rides the IBHOF figure attributed. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Futch's shadowboxing line, attributed, may be the finest technical endorsement in this whole packet — Williams's greatness was visible most clearly to the men who had to solve him. Photo: CLEARED — 1943 photograph with Joe Louis, Public domain, Commons description identifies 'American boxers Holman Williams (left) and Joe Louis (right)' specifically.

Sources

• International Boxing Hall of Fame. "Holman Williams." IBHOF inductee biography (Modern), courtesy of The Ring. Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
• BoxRec. "Holman Williams." BoxRec Wiki. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
• The Sweet Science. "The long, hard road to Canastota." TSS. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)

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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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