Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams (June 30, 1933 – September 10, 1999) was an American professional boxer. A poll in The Ring magazine rated him as one of the finest boxers never to win a title. Early life Born in Griffin, Georgia, Williams started working at a pulpwood mill at the age of 13, and began his professional boxing career in his home state just a year later. He reported winning four of his first six fights, but was barred from competing until he turned 18 after an official learned of his age. Early boxing career Williams turned professional in 1951 and fought many of the best heavyweights of his era. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the 6 ft 2 in Williams was a top-rated heavyweight. His quest to obtain a title fight, however, was consistently derailed. First he was knocked out by Sonny Liston on April 15, 1959. Williams recovered from the Liston fight to score more wins, but was again stopped by Liston in two rounds in their rematch on March 21, 1960. His quest for the title was later stalled when he was held to a draw by Eddie Machen on July 10, 1962, and when he dropped a split decision on March 13, 1963 to Ernie Terrell, a fighter he had previously knocked out in seven rounds in 1962. During this time frame, he defeated Billy Daniels. Police shooting incident On the evening of November 29, 1964, during the height of the civil unrest of the American Civil Rights Movement, a car driven by Williams was stopped near Houston, Texas, by highway Patrolman Dale Witten, who stated afterwards Williams was speeding. According to the police report Williams resisted arrest, and the officer's .357 magnum revolver went off during an ensuing struggle, hitting Williams in the stomach and lodging in his right hip. Williams underwent four operations over the subsequent seven months to address injuries to his colon and right kidney. The right kidney ultimately had to be removed in June 1965. Doctors could not extract the bullet, which had broken his right hip joint and caused partial paralysis of some of the hip's muscles, over of his small intestine had to be removed, and nerve damage affected his left leg above the knee and caused it to atrophy as a result. Hugh Benbow, his manager, and Sonny Liston, former world champion, visited Cleveland Williams in