Willey Going Through Gears

Shannon Willey is looking to go through the gears and catch the eye when he returns to a city that is becoming a home from home.

He goes again when he’s a part of BCB Promotions’ next offering at the H Suite in Edgbaston, Birmingham, on the Sunday afternoon of July 10.

His pro debut came at the same venue, in February, before he travelled to Wolverhampton for his second contest in May, making the long trip from Devon.

Willey lives in Exeter, which is over 150 miles away from Birmingham, and travels to Torquay for training with his coach Gareth Hogg.

The West Midlands has proved to be a happy hunting ground for the 28-year-old welterweight, though, who has moved to 2-0.

He outpointed Naeem Ali and then MJ Hall, without losing any of the four rounds, to claim a 40-37 points decision, on each occasion.

And Willey is no stranger to travelling far and wide, either, having boxed in Australia, while seeing the world with his girlfriend Georgia.

It was in Sydney where he shared a ring with perhaps his most-illustrious opponent, Valentin Kondakov, who represented Samoa at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

He has significant amateur experience, with a grounding of 44 bouts, 19 of them wins, which were mostly for Lympstone Boxing Club, after starting out at Exeter BC.

Willey said: “I’ve pushed myself through my training camp and, hopefully, it will work out on the day. I’ve been told to keep consistent and tick over, so I’m in the gym a lot.

“My girlfriend certainly hasn’t seen me all that much! We’ve been together for eight years, we went travelling and we’re living together (in Exeter) now.

“She’s a great girl who supports what I want to do with boxing, so everything is fine at home and I can concentrate on building my career up.

“I was pleased with my last performance, I’m not all that keen on southpaws and he was a tricky customer, who knew what he was doing.

“There were a few things that I could have done better, I could have changed the pace up and I shouldn’t have let him tie up in the ropes, so it was a learning one.

“I switched off a couple of times, too, and got caught with a couple of punches, but I soon switched on again and set a few traps back.

“I knew what to expect a bit more, after my debut, which was nerve-racking, and I was thinking about what I was doing.

“I only had one gear, on my debut, but I stepped it up the second time and there’s still more to come from me. I’m just looking to get the best out of myself.

“I’m already 28, so I can’t afford to be picking and choosing when I fight, if I want to climb the rankings quickly. If I can stay busy, I could get to 5-0, by the end of the year.”

Tickets for the H Suite bill are available, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside with buffet, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

I accept the Privacy Policy