Nothing it seems, is ever straight-forward with Danny Williams.  After demolishing Mike Tyson in Kentucky and a brave, if vain, attempt at Vitaly Klitskcho's WBC title, the Brixton Bomber announced himself on the world stage.

He later led the domestic scene after flooring the apparently glass-jawed Audley Harrison in October 2005 and followed up with two close tussles with Matt Skelton.  However, after weighing in at a ludicrous weight against Skelton in the second match-up and taking an ill-advised Christmas bout at short notice, Williams was in danger of being a forgotten man.

A Commonwealth title loss to Skelton and a December butchering at the hands of Harrison later, Williams' career needed a lifeline - just two-and-a-half years after decking the legendary Iron Mike.

Scott Gammer threw Williams the said lifeline in offering a shot at the British heavyweight title. Williams admitted as much in the pre-bout rhetoric: It was win or bust for him  For Gammer, this was the ideal opportunity to stake his claim as a name to be reckoned with. Yet largely untested against a man with the experience of Williams, the fight had an air of the unknown about it.

As already noted, nothing is straight-forward with Danny Williams.  After weighing in at around 19st  for his recent fights, Gammer beefed up to his heaviest weight yet at just over 17st to combat the difference.  Imagine the gasps when Williams stripped off to reveal a more toned trunk than we had seen for many a year - a 16st 4lb version to be exact.  Was it a tactic?  A mind game perhaps?  Whatever it was , it worked.

From the opening bell, Williams looked spritely and on his toes.  He bossed the first round with some fast, spearing jabs.  This wasn't the labouring slugger we were used to seeing on ITV.  Williams meant business. He was up for it.

Undeterred, Gammer wasn't set to give his title up without a fight. He upped his workrate, which was never in doubt, and began to trouble Williams' nonchalant defence.  However, Gammer wasn't hurting Williams.  Despite being the heavier man, the blows were not sufficient enough to take out a man of Danny's stature.

The bout ebbed and flowed during the early rounds; one round for Williams, then one for Gammer - believe me, the bout was really intriguing.  Then, as the fight reached halfway, Gammer's workrate slowed and Williams' class began to show.  A straight right from Williams at the end of the seventh hit Gammer bang on the button and the bell came to the Welshman's rescue. 

Despite looking to gain the upper hand, Williams' defence got sloppy and he was caught out with two flush left hooks. Gammer's efforts hurt but didn't budge Williams, whereas a world-class fighter would have decked him faced with a similarly wide open target.  It proved to be Gammer's last hurrah.

Williams stormed out of his corner in the ninth, possessed by the whiff of another Lonsdale belt. A tirade of combinations onto Gammer's head culminated in a booming right-hand - a knockout blow.  Gammer did get up, but his wobbly disposition led to a count-out.  The partisan Neath crowd was silenced.

The performance begged the question: What if Williams had kept his weight down for his previous fights?  Spurred on by a training plan put together by Lennox Lewis' conditioner Joey Dunbar, Williams trained himself for the fight, and as a result was arguably in the best shape of his career.

Billed as a straight-forward crossroads for both fighters, their respective futures are arguably more cloudy. In the post-match interview, Williams spoke of retirement whilst he had the opportunity to bow out on a high. It's a pleasing rarity to hear, as if Williams isn't planning on making a last-gasp effort on the world stage, then surely he has nothing more to achieve.

As for Gammer, the questions over his punching power may put the skids under him stepping up to the next level.  Indeed, perhaps his best chance of getting back into a strong bargaining position would be to try and win back the British title, that is if Williams was genuine in relinquishing the belt.

Or maybe such a gesture would just open the door earlier than expected for recent heavyweight convert, David Haye, to stake his claim as the UK's leading marquee fighter.

What do you think? Is Williams up for another  crack? We want to hear your views at Sportingo.