Freddie Roach earned plenty of respect for refusing to hide behind any of the battery of excuses offered up by the rest of Mike Tyson's camp in the wake of his knockout defeat.

The well-known trainer admitted Tyson had been beaten fair and square and strongly intimated he would advise the former world champion to retire.

A fortnight on it is a different story, and Roach is now buying into those questionable excuses as much as anybody.

"Mike showed signs of the old Mike. I think if it wasn't for the knee he would have knocked Williams out," Roach told the doghouseboxing.com website.

"But we can't make any excuses... so maybe we'll have to do that one again. Maybe he needs a tune-up before the rematch but I do feel he could knock the guy out."

Roach's claim is riddled with more convictions than the number of clean punches which bounced off his man's head.

And he does not answer the obvious question of how a supposedly chronically injured Tyson walked out of the ring unaided and without limping in the wake of his defeat.

None of which will bother Danny Williams one bit. He knows the truth and he would relish another chance to earn a career-best payday... and knock Tyson out again.