Koby Williams turns punishment into praise by taking fighting inside the ropes

NEW YORK – Koby Williams may be more of a stylist than a brawler, but it doesn’t take much to convince him to fight.

Long before Williams was making noise in the New York amateur and pro boxing scene, he was another youth looking for a positive outlet for his anger. He found it in boxing – but not before trouble found him.

As a junior at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Williams got into a scuffle after school that resulted in a broken jaw for another student.

The incident cost Williams a lot. For six months, he sat in a cell awaiting trial. An invitation to play basketball at Virginia Commonwealth University was rescinded. He served a year of probation and had to pay back restitution for the victim’s surgery.

His mother, frustrated by her son’s penchant for getting expelled, told him it was time to find a more appropriate venue for mutual combat.

“My mom was like, ‘Listen, you’ve been getting kicked out of school your whole life, getting in trouble just for fights. Now you’re gonna make your money doing it if you like to fight so much,’” remembers Williams.

“Ever since then, things have been working out, surprisingly.”

Since then, Williams, a 26-year-old southpaw, has made good on his mother’s orders, building a 4-0 (3 KOs) record as a professional. He will aim to improve that mark when he returns to the ring on February 20 at Sony Hall in New York City against an opponent to be named. The fight, which will be his first at junior lightweight, will be part of the Boxing Insider Promotions card that is headlined by the 10-round welterweight bout between Avious Griffin and Jose Luis Sanchez.

Williams, who is now based in Brooklyn, New York, moved up north to live with his brother after the incident. He picked up boxing at age 16, working out of a small boxing studio before linking up with rising trainer Jose Luis Guzman at Victory Boxing in Manhattan. That partnership paid immediate dividends, as he won his first 19 amateur bouts, beginning in 2019, culminating in titles at the 2023 Ring Masters Championships and Metropolitan Championships. He lost his last two amateur bouts, which signaled to Williams that it was time to remove the headgear and start playing for keeps.

“The pro life, for me … I feel like I’ve always been, not like a slow-paced fighter, but more like a patient counter-fighter. I feel like the pro style kind of suits me,” said Williams, who supplements his boxing purses by working as a waiter and bartender in New York’s Financial District.

Williams turned pro in May 2024, winning his debut by second-round stoppage in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After two more fights in Nashville, Tennessee, Williams finally made his New York debut last December. He says that fighting in New York, just walking distance from Times Square, will be key to building his fan base locally.

“I’m not gonna lie, it felt good coming back,” said Williams, who is now handled by TMA Management. “It’s easier to get to my fights instead of traveling and going out to Jersey because it’s two hours away. Friends and family come out. It’s electric.”

Being a southpaw who is originally from the Hampton Roads area, Williams found inspiration in Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, a Hall of Famer who lived in Virginia Beach for many years. He also cites Shakur Stevenson, Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko among his favorite lefties.

Guzman, who also trains world-rated bantamweight Dominique Crowder, thinks Williams could prove to be a top fighter as well.

“I think Koby is a special talent,” Guzman said. “He’s one of those guys that is just naturally gifted, and he’s hungry. He’s always competitive and wants to prove himself. He’s done that since the amateurs. Every time he beats someone, he always goes for the top dog. He’s definitely a talent that is going to shine bright in the future.”

Now, instead of punishment, Williams finds praise for punching people. In the future, he hopes to be serving only punches instead of drinks.

“As I get better and better, I feel like I’ll be a world champion in no time,” said Williams. “That’s my goal.”

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.