Olympic silver medalist Ricardo Williams Jr., whose hand surgery May 30 in New York was successful, won't fight again before fall, co-manager Buddy LaRosa said Tuesday.

        “They reattached a tendon at the knuckle (of his middle finger) on his left hand,” LaRosa said. “They feel that will correct the chronic condition that always causes his (left hand) to swell up after he boxes. He'll be on the shelf until September.”

        Williams (7-0, 5 knockouts) re-injured the hand in a unanimous decision over Anthony Washington in February at Cincinnati Gardens. Williams, 20, couldn't make his scheduled bout April27 at Madison Square Garden, which would have been more good exposure (HBO).

        “The big thing for him now is to watch his weight (140 pounds), making sure he doesn't pile it on,” LaRosa said. “We'll go back in three weeks to have the cast taken off.”

        While Williams has been restricted to running and weight training, his friend and former Olympic teammate, Dante Craig, 23, has been racking up victories. The 147-pounder (6-1, 6 KOs) most recently stopped Richard Lee Hall (7-8, 4 KOs) in the fourth round of a scheduled six-rounder in Washington D.C.

        Four young Cincinnati boxers seeking to follow in the Olympic footsteps of Williams and Craig will compete in the week-long National Junior Olympics at the Olympic Training Center at Marquette University beginning Monday. They are: Rau'shee Warren, 15, 100 pounds; Tim Dungar, 15, 119 pounds; Tony Walker, 15, 125 pounds, and Larry Mathis, 16, 147 pounds.

        “If these guys finish in the top four of their weight class, they'll stay up there for a week of training and then compete in the box-offs,” said Mike Stafford, who coaches the Cincinnati Junior Olympians. “The winners of the box-offs will participate in the Junior Worlds in July.”

        The other Cincinnati Junior Olympic coach making the trip to Marquette is Tony Hide. Three other Cincinnati juniors won their intermediate weight classes at the same regional last month but aren't advancing to Marquette because they are too young: Adrien Bronner, 13, 80 pounds; Lonnie Watkins, 13, 100 pounds, and Branden Bennett, 14, 112 pounds.

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