Beaten Danny is still buoyant

"The whole idea was to keep working and get in close," he said. "But when I got hurt in the first round things just didn't work for me. My balance and my head movement just weren't there.

"In a situation like that you either retire in the corner or you go to war. I chose to go to war.

"There was no way I was going to quit. I wanted to fight to the end. I always thought that I might be able to slip in and catch him with a left hook or a right hand. But it wasn't to be."

It was now many hours after the defeat and we were sitting in the more serene surroundings of Williams's hotel suite.

He was dressed in a white towelling robe, one hand pressing an ice bag to the egg of a bump that had forced his right eye tight shut while the other cradled his cooing six-month-old daughter, Maliha.

Having been exiled in training camp since the beginning of November, there was emotion in the voice of this doting father as he thought back to the post-fight reunion with his family.

"My daughter didn't even remember me," he said. "I've got to get to know her again."

There are those, Williams's own manager and promoter Frank Warren among them, who feel that this family might be better served if the man of the house now chose to hang up his gloves.

Warren said: "Personally I would like him to turn it in. Danny has had his shot at the world title and he isn't stupid. He got beaten by Samil Sam in a European title challenge then lost his British title to Michael Sprott, and each time people thought it was the end of the road.

"He came back each time, but you can't keep going to the well. He's got to think about things and if you're just going to go on showing tremendous courage and spirit then maybe it's not the right thing to do."

The statistics from a one-sided contest lent weight to Warren's concern.

Klitschko landed an astonishing 47 per cent of his punches, connecting with 296 of the 519 he threw. Williams landed just 44 punches, not one of them hard enough to seriously shake Klitschko.

Besides a stitch to his eye and treatment to wounds inside his mouth, Williams also underwent a post-fight brain scan, which fortunately proved clear.

Williams does accept he now needs a long period of rest and recuperation. But after that he insists he will lace up the gloves once more, Frank Bruno's defeat-laced but ultimately successful assault on the WBC title serving as his inspiration.

"I want to become world champion," said Williams. "I still believe I can get there. I have got to keep trying, man. Until I'm a shot fighter I'm going to keep trying."

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room as the implications embodied in the phrase "until I'm a shot fighter" sunk in.

The very thought that Williams, such a nice man and a gentleman to boot, might one day succumb to all that being "shot" implies is too awful to contemplate.

Williams sensed the unease and lightened the mood by declaring one ambition realised. Clutching that ice bag he smiled and said: "I watch a lot of Rocky Marciano videos and I always wanted an eye like this."

Indeed, Williams's idol would often take a terrible beating before rallying to win. Williams possesses Marciano's courage and desire in abundance. But the plain truth is that while Marciano became a legend, Williams remains an enigma.

On Saturday he was beaten by a bigger and better boxer, probably the best of a poor bunch of heavyweight champions. Against a smaller and lesser talent, maybe Williams might just prevail.

But he must surely do a lot of soulsearching before committing himself to such a test.