Eubank Jr rival Liam Williams, 32, retires from boxing in emotional speech and says ‘some hits you can’t come back from’

2 months ago 23

LIAM WILLIAMS – the brilliantly brave Welsh boxer – has retired with a beautifully soft speech every fighter should read.

The 32-year-old Clydach lad suffered three defeats in his last five fights – the swansong a hard-to-watch single-round knockout to Hamzah Sheeraz.

a man wearing boxing gloves that say myla on themBrit Liam Williams has announced his retirement from professional boxingRICHARD PELHAM
two boxers are fighting and one has a belt that says syazaGETTY
Williams, seen here in action against Alantez Fox in December 2021, has retired to be as fit and healthy as possible for his family[/caption]
a boxer wearing a purple belt with the word myla on itMATCHROOM BOXING
The Welshman challenged Demetrius Andrade for the WBO middleweight title in April 2021[/caption]

And he has hung up his gloves without a world title but with his health intact to spend and share with his young family.

“I don’t want to box just for money and get a hit to the head you can never come back from,” he said after suffering a string of concussions.

“I’ve got a lovely family, a lovely partner.

“If I can’t enjoy my life with them because of damage to my brain, what would it be for?

“I’ve taken too much, I’ve had a long career, boxing has been all I’ve ever known.

“Heavy sparring, heavy hits, my resistance to punches is not as good and the risks are just too great.

“Some hits you can’t come back from.”

Williams was a gym-mate of Nick Blackwell, who suffered life-changing injuries in a 2016 loss to Chris Eubank Jr, so he is tragically aware of the dangers of the sport he loves.

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liam williams punches demetrius andrade during the wbo middleweight championship fightLiam Williams has no regrets about calling time on his career as a professional boxerGETTY
two boxers are fighting in a ring and one has the word nexter on his shortsWilliams faced off with Chris Eubank Jr in a domestic dust-up in February 2022RICHARD PELHAM

The former British super-welterweight champ said: “I know that boxing is brutal.

“I trust the people around me and when they are telling you it’s over, you have to listen. It was very hard to hear.

“I would have liked to have won a world title, I was a bit unfortunate that when my opportunity came it was against one of the best world champions (Demetrius Andrade).

“I think I proved in my career that I could box at a world level.

“But I can look back and be proud of what I have done.”

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