WEST HAVEN -- A lot of eyes will be on a professional West Haven boxer Saturday night.
Jimmy “The Quiet Storm” Williams went undefeated his entire career up until his last match in April.
Despite his loss, he’s stepping back in the ring at Foxwoods Resort Casino Saturday night to take on Jose Antonio Abreu, a game fighter from the Dominican Republic.
Outside of the ring, Williams is a truancy officer at West Haven High School and told FOX61, he’s hoping to win because he wants to show his students the importance of never giving up.
Those lessons from his time in the ring and losses in life are helping students like senior, Cristian Cardoso.
“I didn’t really want to open up. I didn’t know him like that. After what he told me he went through, it was easy for me to open up,” said Cardoso.
Williams’ mother was killed in 2008. She was found strangled, with bruises on her face and partially clothed behind an abandoned house in their New Jersey neighborhood.
The case is still cold.
Cardoso said, he too lost a few close friends and relatives, making it tough to finish school.
He was expelled from school his junior year, but returned this year to finish his classes. Cardoso graduates this month and credits Williams.
“It was just tough. It wasn’t easy.”
Williams said his biggest lesson for himself and others is to never throw in the towel, no matter how hard the punch.
“It’s all about how you come back in life. We all have ups and downs. I’ve been through a lot, but look how I bounce back,” said Williams.