An interview with Willie Limond, current British Light Welterweight Champion
Written by Sean Ness @misterness84 twitter
One of Glasgow’s famous sons and boxers Willie Limond has agreed to talk to me about his career in a series of questions. I would usually start by giving a summary of a boxer's career or a highlight however I would like to begin by saying how grateful I am to Willie Limond for taking time out to speak to one of his fans who was born only a stone throw away from where he was brought up. Willie is a one of those boxers who comes from a working class family and doesn't forget his roots, he is grounded and as well as having a successful boxing career, he also holds down an everyday job. That's not bad for a guy who has won titles in 3 different weight classes. I asked him about his boxing heroes, he states he has none however he admires boxers who have time for the people. Well Willie, your fellow Glaswegians admire you, especially this one.
I remembered when I was younger, I asked my Old Man if he knew Willie Limond because like my father, they both grew up in Garthamlock. My Dad’s reply was that he knew of Willie’s family and from there I used to tell my pals that my Dad knew Willie Limond even though my Father was 14 years older than him. From watching him reach the heights of success and the times where he spoke about quitting the fight game, I have been an ever loyal fan. Recently it has been refreshing to see Willie Limond back to winning ways and picking up titles. I cannot begin to tell you what it means to me to be able to ask Willie about his life and career and for that I am truly grateful.
Willie’s pro career started in 1999 when he beat Lenny Hodgkins. During the first few fights of his pro career, he also defeated a future WBU featherweight champion by the name of Choi Tseveenpurev who has also won Sky TV’s Prizefighter series. On the 12th December 2003 at the Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Willie would feature in an all Scottish showdown with Edinburgh’s Alex Arthur. Both fighters were undefeated at the time however “Amazing” Alex Arthur proved to be too much for the ever brave Willie and won by an 8th round stoppage. Some urban myths say the reason Alex Arthur quit boxing is because he “shat it” after hearing Willie wanted a rematch guess we will never know if that was true though.
Willie has been a EBU super featherweight champion, Celtic Super featherweight champion, Commonwealth lightweight/light welterweight champion, IBO Inter-Continental champion, which he won at the SECC in Glasgow in 2008. He has also been a WBU lightweight champion and is the current British Light Welterweight Champion.
It was the 14th July 2007 when Willie faced the new rising star of boxing, an Olympic Silver medallist by the name of Amir Khan. In the 6th round, Willie connected with a clean shot sending Amir Khan to the canvas. I am an Amir Khan fan but on that night I was pro Limond. On connecting with that shot, it appeared that Khan had an extremely long count and I personally feel that if the count had been done correctly, then Amir King Khan’s first loss would have came from our very own Willie Limond.
Not only has he mixed with the likes of Amir Khan and Anthony Crolla but on the 11th September 2010, Willie went to the Monumental Plaza de Toros, Mexico City, Mexico which is 6,550 ft above sea level to fight the Mexican legend Erik "El Terrible" Morales for the vacant WBC Silver Super Lightweight Title. Willie fought brave and in the first few rounds he pressured Morales and caught him with some clean shots. Morales went onto to win the fight scoring a knockdown in the 6th round. However Morales was that impressed with Willie that he flew him back over to Mexico to be his chief sparring partner for his fight with Marcos Maidana as mentioned in the interview below.
After the fight with Crolla, there was talk of retirement but I am happy to see Willie continuing to fight on and he is now looking in great shape since moving up to light welterweight. Willie’s next fight is against Chris Jenkins where he will be defending his British title. It will feature on the undercard of Josh Warrington – Dennis Tubieron fight in Leeds, 11th April. There are talks of a Willie Limond, Ricky Burns and Charlie Flynn featuring on the same card in 2015. Personally that will be one night that any true Scots boxing fan will want to miss.
I contacted Willie hoping that he would speak about his career however I wasn't hopeful but like the down to earth guy that he is he agreed to speak to me, gave me his phone number and was more than obliged to answer any questions I had. This is what he had to say.
Me: Willie, you have been professional since 1999 but can you tell me what made you choose boxing rather than football considering you were talented in that sport too? Am I right saying you played junior football?
Willie: I played professional Sean. I played for Albion Rovers first team when I was 17 but boxing was always my number one sport.
Me: Interesting, not many people get to be talented at one sport never mind two. You have became a hero to the people of Glasgow especially the East End where you grew up, do you have any tips for the kids of Glasgow looking to get into the sport? Is there any clubs that you can recommend?
Willie: Yes there are some good clubs around, Dennistoun McNair and Glasgow Phoenix. Boxing is brilliant for kids The training helps keep them fit and a lot of good people are involved in the sport.
Me: Thanks for that Willie, In September 2010 you fought Erik Morales landing some good clean shots in the opening rounds, how did that fight come about and how was the whole experience of sharing the ring with a top name like Morales?
Willie: It was an amazing experience, we fought in front of almost 60,000 fans in a bull arena. I felt I was doing well and had the fight under control until the altitude caught up with me and I felt I couldn't breath. I must have done something good as Morales had me back over as his chief sparring partner when he was fighting Marcos Maidana, he wanted me to stay for nearly 4 months but because I had commitments back in Glasgow, I had to leave Mexico. To this day it's been one of my biggest regrets in boxing.
Me: I remember reading about the arena being six and half thousand feet above sea level. At least you know you done well enough to catch Morales attention and invite you over again.
You have had 42 fights to date, can you tell me what has been your highlight of your career?
Willie: All the fights have been amazing, especially winning the British and Commonwealth titles and obviously fighting Morales. I've always worked and boxed so I'm proud of all the titles I've won at 3 different weights.
Me: My personal favourite was quite recently when you beat Curtis Woodhouse because after Crolla, you signaled that you may retire so to see you plugging away, moving up a weight and winning the British title from Woodhouse was brilliant for me to watch as a fan.
I'm not a boxer Willie, but that hasn't stopped me jumping around the living room with the house coat on to my favourite ring walk music, so with that, can you tell me you favourite ring walk song?
Willie: I like Clanedonia, traditional Scottish music. The Gael gets me fired up for the battle.
I let Willie know that The Gael also known as Last of The Mohicans is a personal favourite tune of mine.
Me: I can imagine Will, fire in the belly and aww that. So who where your boxing heroes? Have you ever met them and where they nice in persona as you imagined?
Willie: I don't really have any boxing heroes however I admire the boxers who have time for the people.
Me: Like yourself then Willie? So coming from the East End of Glasgow, a place that is split down the middle with blue (Rangers) and green (Celtic) how did you end up a Partick Thistle supporter?
Willie: (Laughs) My whole family are Jags fans, my 11 and 8 year old boys, even my 4 months year old girl.
Me: I think I know one Thistle supporter and when The Jags aren't playing, he supports Rangers.
So there is talk of you, Ricky Burns and Charlie Flynn appearing on the same bill in Glasgow later on in 2015. Can you confirm if it's happening? First up is Chris Jenkins and you will be defending the British light welterweight title on the undercard of Josh Warrington V Dennis Tubieron in Leeds on the 11th April. How are your preparations coming along and is that why you are off to Liverpool today?
Willie: First and foremost I need to deal with Jenkins first before any other fight is mentioned. I'm taking the day off today to go and watch Derry Matthews. I trained this morning though and the preparations are going well.
Me: Am I pushing it by asking you to get Derry to give me a shout? (Laughs)
Last but not least, Mayweather Pacquiao, who you choosing to win?
Willie: Mayweather win for me.
Me: I would like to thank you for your time Willie, my Father's side of the family where all born and raised in Porchester Street, Garthamlock so it's been an honour for me to talk to a hometown hero of mine. Good luck against Jenkins and I'll be cheering you on as always.
Willie: That's the street I was born in. I hope this helps your blog Sean, it's been good talking with you mate and if you need anything in the future, you can contact me anytime.
On a personal note, this has been a dream come true for me. Even if my blog doesn't take off, it's all been worth it because it's not everyday you get the chance to converse with a sporting hero. You can watch Willie's fight against Chris Jenkins on Sky TV 11th April on the "This is Leeds" show.
