BOXING - Williams chases Commonwealth Gold ahead of Games debut - The Leamington Observer

BOXING - Williams chases Commonwealth Gold ahead of Games debut

Leamington Editorial 27th Jul, 2022   0

LEWIS Williams is hoping to land the most prestigious major medal of his career to date as he aims for gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The Leamington fighter is a European bronze medallist and competed at the World Championships last year where he reached the quarter-finals.

Still fighting in the amateur ranks, Williams has ambitions to turn professional after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

However, he remains focused on the upcoming Birmingham Games and is looking forward to competing in front of a home crowd for the first time in more than four years.




Williams said: “I’m more excited now that the Games are so close, it feels more real, I’m just fine tuning those last little bits to be fully prepared for what’s ahead.

“It’s been a very long time since I last fought in front of a home crowd so it will be great to finally fight with home support behind me.


“I’ve got experience over the rest of the field so I’m looking forward to it.”

And Edwin Cleary, who has coached Williams since the age of 12 at Clearys Boxing Gym in Leamington, believes the heavyweight fighter is more than capable of bringing home the gold medal.

Cleary added: “He’s been with the gym since he was 12-years-old, he’s always been extremely tall for his age which meant we had to pair him off with men from an early age.

“It was difficult because it was hard to find sparring partners who weren’t adults but I think it helped him along with his progress in the long run.

“Having Lewis compete at the Games is helping kids to believe, I’m a big believer in seeing is believing – it’s not just a coach telling them they can get to where Lewis is, they can see him at these events.

“It’ll be great to go and watch him, I’ve got quarter-final, semi-final and final tickets so you can see where my mindset is – I really believe he will go on and win this.”

The opening ceremony for the Games takes place on Thursday, July 28 with the boxing event to begin on Friday, July 29 at NEC Hall 4 in Birmingham.

Public Notices

View and download all of the public notices in the Leamington Observer.

Buy Photos

Buy photos online from the Leamington Observer newspaper.

Advertising

Advertise with the Leamington Observer to reach your audience

Online Editions

Catch up on your local news by reading our e-editions on the Leamington Observer.