One To Watch #1 Tramaine "Midget" Williams

This is the first of a series that I plan on doing regularly on this blog site and my first attempt at editorial content, but that’s what blogs are for, right? In the first installment of One To Watch, I have some videos featuring New Haven, Connecticut’s own Tramaine “Midget” Williams, the 16-year-old recently-crowned 2009 National PAL 114lbs. division champion. He boxes out of Ring One Boxing under Brian Clark.

I think I first met Midget at the Ringside World Championships about 5 years ago. He was pointed out to me by my son’s boxing coach, who talked him up as one of the best around. It was only seconds into his first bout that I understood what the buzz was about. A slick and graceful boxer at such a young age is great to watch and after that first tournament, I made sure that if Midget was boxing, I was watching and more importantly recording—and eventually collecting. So, here are some of the bouts that I have on this 9-time national champion, which include 4 from the National Silver Gloves.

For those that don’t know, the National Silver Gloves is the largest and most prestigious amateur tournament for boxers 10 to 15-years old. I say this because you have to win to get in, and stay in. The country is divided into 8 regions (see chart below in red) which all have local Silver Gloves Tournaments to determine the local champions who compete in the first leg. Champions from the local tournaments advance to the Regional Tournament and compete against other local champions to see who advances to the National Tournament to represent the region. At the National Tournament, held in Independence, Missouri at the beginning of February, all the Regional Champions for their age bracket and weight division meet to compete for the belt and title of National Silver Gloves Champion—and the #1 ranking in the US. There have been too many of these champions to name but I can tell you that 6 of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Team members were former Silver Gloves Champions. However, winning multiple years puts you in elite company and Tramaine not only won multiple National Silver Gloves titles, but he won 4 consecutive years and was in the finals during the year he didn't win! If I remember correctly, there was one year that he qualified, but didn't attend. Below is a video playlist of some of the videos that I have collected and recorded of my first featured One To Watch Boxer, Tramaine “Midget” Williams.

(Click on the rectangular icon to the right of the play button on the bottom menue to select on of the 12 videos)





Region 1- Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Conneticut, New York, New Jersey (8 states)
Region 2-Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky (5 states)
Region 3-West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland/D.C./Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama (10 states)
Region 4-Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (4 states)
Region 5-Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas (5 states)
Region 6-Oklahama, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee (6 states)
Region 7-Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington (5 states)
Region 8-California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico (6 states)