Shelley
Williams was born in Los Angeles, California and spent her childhood watching
Gillette Friday Night Fights with her late father, Leo Williams. It was great
father/daughter time and nurtured her love of the sweet science. After
graduation, she entered the field of law as a paralegal where she specialized in
probate, family and criminal law. She was the personal and legal assistant to
famed O.J. Simpson attorney and boxing aficionado, Robert Shapiro, as well as
the publicist and personal assistant to the late great Eddie Futch. Shelley is
on the Board of Directors of the Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas.
For 30
years, Williams has been a woman making her way in a man’s world. She had no
problem working a corner and carrying a spit bucket. It led to the opportunity
for her to form Laced Leather Boxing Management where her duties included Boxing
Manager, Booking Agent, Publicist, Ringside Reporter, Journalist, Consultant,
Matchmaker and Production Coordinator. She represented, among others, the
following Champions: Michael "Dynamite" Dokes, Iran "The Blade" Barkley,
Livingstone “Rasi” Bramble, Hannah “The Vegas” Fox, Helga “Snowcat” Risoy and
James "Quick" Tillis who was the first man to go the distance with Mike Tyson.
Shelley served as a meet and greet booking agent for Ken Norton, Leon Spinks and
Earnie Shavers, was a Boxing Camp Administrator at Prince Ranch Resort and held
the position of Commissioner of the International Female Boxers Association (IFBA).
Many of Shelley’s boxing-related affiliations include the following: Inductee
into the National Boxing Hall of Fame, Class of 2016; Inductee into the
International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame, Class of 2020; Media Relations with
Riddick Bowe (Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion; American Champion
Entertainment duties as a Boxing Production Coordinator (Laila Ali – Showtime
Boradcast – China); Legends of Boxing, Boxing Production Coordinator (Hector
“Macho” Camacho - Puerto Rico); Global Sports Network, Boxing Production
Coordinator (Tim Witherspoon - Antigua, British West Indies); Event Sports,
Boxing Production Assistant (ESPN2 World Champion Boxing Broadcast); “In This
Corner” With James Smith, Talent Coordinator / Nationally Syndicated Boxing
Television Show; Global Village Champions Foundation, Coordination Volunteer
(Homeless Outreach Event – Evander Holyfield); Harmik as Tom Jones Show with
Special Guest R&B Singer Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Public Relations; Archie Moore’s
“Any Boy Can” Foundation, Public Relations; Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame,
Public Relations and Presenter of Ken Norton Posthumous 10-Count and Induction
of Referee Kenny Bayless; WBC Legends of Boxing Museum Hall of Fame, Presenter
for Induction of Hedgemon Lewis; N-The Ring, Radio Co-Host with Lamont
Patterson / Women in Boxing Segment; Cuba Gooding, Sr. (K.O. Katrina), Public
Relations; Square Ring (Roy Jones, Jr.), Glove Handler/Dressing Room Supervisor;
and interviewed by throughout the years with many major magazines that included
People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, G.Q.
Magazine, Fox Sports, ABC Sports, Ring Sports, International Boxing Digest, Las
Vegas Magazine and China Daily News.
Shelley’s passion is raising awareness of the plight of Prize Fighters after
their career is over and the lights have dimmed both literally and
figuratively. It is her heart’s desire that the issue of the life-long ravages
of traumatic brain injury and the aftermath suffered by our beloved warriors of
the ring and their loved ones be addressed and rectified and not simply
dismissed as a hazard of the trade.
