BRANTFORD — Super HeavyWeight boxer Brody Williams will be making his ring debut this Friday night at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Catherine Street in West Brantford, promoted by the Bell City Boxing Club.
Williams’ step-dad was a boxer in the Air Force and growing up with him sparked his interest in boxing.
Bill first began training Brody for about six months several years ago, but it didn’t take at first. Years later his rehab from a broken leg brought him back to the Williams the he returned from Nova Scotia and restarted the boxing club.
I started coming out Saturdays … I almost died,” he laughs. “It was tough, but I loved it from day one and just kept going.”
During the process he lost a lot of weight and gained a of muscle and cardio conditioning.
Watching how much his determined club member was coming along, one day Williams told him that if he wants to, he will get Brody ready for the ring. That is when Brody really started taking his training more seriously and Friday night will be his debut in the ring as a Super Heavyweight.
His opponent will be from King of the Ring boxing club in Brampton and although the bout is confirmed, the fighter’s name is not not known at this time.
“I am excited, nervous, all of it,” says Brody, “but I’m ready.”
Coach Williams admits he has been pushing Brody along pretty hard to get ready but believes his 34-year-old boxer will do well and is a ready as a new boxer can be.
He has been sparing with club mates to give him some ring sense, which is very important for any fighter no matter how long he or she has been fighting.
“That’s when your cardio really starts to come in,” he says. It is also where you learn how to take a punch.
But joining the boxing club has also been a good thing for him in many other arias of his life.
“It has helped me focus better as well, I’ve made a lot of friends that I almost consider family,” says Brody. “I look forward to coming in to the gym.”
At his age and lack of experience, there is little chance of ever going pro, but that isn’t really why he has been going. Having an opportunity to put his skills up against another in a sanctioned amateur fight will tell him a lot about how far he wants to go in the ring.
“We’ll just have this one fight and see how that goes,” says Brody, relative to his future in boxing. But for now, he is stoked and as ready as he can be for his boxing debut.
Also on the fight card this Friday is 34-year-old Skylar Williams, from Six Nations, who has been working out at the Bell City Club for quite some time now off-and-on, but now he getting serious.
“I’m at the gym almost every day,” says Williams.”I think I’m ready and I know I’m pumped,” says Williams. “I’ve been working real hard.”
One thing he will probably not do is run out of gas. Both Skylar and coach Williams (again, no relation) agree on is that his cardio is crazy good.
Skylar will be the tallest man in the ring which gives him an edge on the outside, but he also loves to mix it up inside, and says he is ready for whatever happens.
