Boxing sensation Liam Williams walks away from the sport

• Liam Williams, one of the most renowned boxing figures in Europe in recent years, has announced his retirement
• The Welshman, who last fought in February, revealed concerns over concussions as the main reason for his early retirement

Liam Williams, one of the most renowned boxing figures in Europe in recent years, has announced his retirement. Williams had decided to walk away from the sport at the age of 32 after giving fans some of the most entertaining and thrilling matches.

The Welshman, who last fought in February, revealed concerns over concussions as the main reason for his early retirement. In the fight against Hamzah Sheeraz (in February), he was stopped in the first round, with the result leaving him with a professional boxing record of 25 wins, five defeats and one draw. According to Williams’ Wikipedia page, 20 of his wins came via knockout.

Liam Williams has announced his retirement from boxing. Photo/ YouTube.

Williams is worried about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated hits to the head and concussion. The condition leads to confusion, depression and eventually dementia, which can only be identified once someone is dead.

Speaking to BBC, he revealed that he recently informed his manager to get him a fight but decided to cancel the request the following day having made up his mind to retire. The 32-year-old said he has suffered three or four concussions in the last one and a half years, which is enough reason to hang his gloves.

The first time he suffered a concussion while in action in the last 18 months was when he faced Demetrius Andrade and lost via unanimous decision. He had another concussion in a sparring session before the incident occurred again in his unanimous decision loss to Chris Eubank Jr. He had received medical advise not to fight Eubank but decided to face the 35-year-old because there was a lot of money on the table, as per his own words.

Williams’ biggest regret in boxing is not winning a world title. His opportunity to be a world star came against Andrade and he lost, unfortunately.

“I would have liked to have won a world title, I was a bit unfortunate I suppose that when my opportunity it came against one of the best world champions (Andrade),” he said. 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.” Liam Williams told BBC Sport.

Boxing Career of Liam Williams

Born in 1992, Williams showed signs of becoming an elite boxer from a young age. However, he worked as a roofer before switching to boxing where as an amateur he claims to have won 44 out of 49 fights. Due to his prowess, he claimed several awards in Britain and Europe at large, including the 2011 Senior ABAs.

Williams turned pro in 2011 and recorded victory against the more experienced Ryan Clark in Wales. Three years later, he claimed his first major title, the Commonwealth light-middleweight title, after securing victory over Michael Lomax in the second round.

Wales’ Liam Williams (L) in action against Demetrius Andrade in 2021. Photo/ BBC.

The middleweight, who also fought at super-welterweight, carried Wales boxing on his shoulders for over a decade. He made a huge jump in class in 2017 when he faced Liam Smith but despite impressing many with his performance, he lost the match. The two met again months later, but this time it was Smith who dominated the fight from the start to the end.

Williams bounced back stronger from the setback by recording victories against the likes of Mark Heffron, Karim Achour and Alantez Fox before things started to fall apart for him again at the world stage. While the last days of his career were not remarkable, Liam Williams will be remembered by many as one of the finest boxers in Wales’ history.