SELLY Oak light-welter Blaine Williams has surprisingly ended what looked a promising pro career before it gained real momentum.
The 31-year-old has announced his retirement after only three fights. He won them all and looked capable of fighting for a Midlands title.
Bigger things beckoned for the BCB Promotions boxer.
The father-of-three said “struggles with the business side” of boxing prompted his decision.
His story is a lesson to young fighters who expect the paid game’s streets to be paved with gold and drip glamour from the start.
They have to graft in the gym, then graft to sell tickets. A “home” boxer’s pay is dictated by the tickets he or she sells. That is the way of the small hall world. That is the way for every promoter.
And BCB built a winning run for Blaine.
“It was the business side of things,” Blaine said. “I’m not very good at it and that’s where a lot of the struggles came – selling tickets, keeping everyone happy.
“A lot of the time with boxing, you have to make everyone happy before yourself, but you are the one on the night who has to perform. It’s even the little things like the walk-out song – will other people like it?
“You can message hundreds and hundreds of people (about tickets) and not get a reply, yet afterwards everyone wants to know you.”
Williams began his career on the white collar circuit, had a handful of amateur contests with Dudley’s Priory Park club, then turned pro.
“I came into the game super-late. I walked into a gym when I was 27, punched a bag and fell in love with the sport,” he said.
“That side is amazing – the people you meet, it’s good from that side. The business side?
That’s when I began to think it’s not for me.
“It takes its toll, financially – there’s things like travelling to training, an hour there, an hour back. I’m 31, I have three little boys and we couldn’t even go on holiday because I was training. You have to have a job that’s flexible around boxing and that means you make less money.
“Financially, it wasn’t working out. The reason we boxers do it is because we love the sport. Most boxers I’ve come across have nothing but respect for each other, maybe because we have the same struggles.”
Williams will never knock the sport itself and would encourage others to lace on gloves.
“I loved the team I had a Priory,” he stressed. “I had 100 per cent trust in them. But I can’t keep going on that love alone, I need security.
“I was thinking, will I get a break? It’s not guaranteed. When will I get that break? It’s not guaranteed.”
Blaine’s energies are now channelled towards a new career as an occupational therapist.
The skills needed to help people mentally and physically were honed during his time as a fighter.
A ring return is unlikely. He added: “Never say never, but age is against me. When I turned pro, I knew it was all or nothing. Never say never, but I can’t see a way.
“Boxing is 100 per cent amazing, I will never tell anyone not to box – I’ve seen so much good come from it. The business side? Maybe that’s not so amazing.”
