The boxing world said goodbye to one of its greatest boxers yesterday, mourning the death of Willie Limond.
The famous Scot died at the age of 45 two weeks ago after suffering an epileptic seizure.
Limond is ready to fight again.
Crowds gathered at Daldovey Crematorium in Glasgow, with boxing figures from across the UK in attendance, to celebrate the former super featherweight and lightweight champion who won 42 of his 48 professional fights.
“Forty-five is not an age, especially for someone who lives it,” laments his friend, former competitor and world champion Anthony Crolla. ——This is absolutely unacceptable. Sent here, he was one of the nicest people and it was nice to know him.
– Not only Scottish and British boxing, the world would be worse off without him. I mean it.
“Life can be cruel at times, but he leaves an impact on those who know him, whether it’s a joke, a wise word, or how big he is.”
Limond did a great job, but if he’d had his biggest disappointment in 2007 (which he almost did), he might have taken a different route. Taking on a hot new star named Amir Khan at London’s O2 Arena, Limond – a man who thought he wasn’t a boxer – completely knocked the handsome man out. Bolton will have a degree alongside Khan’s abilities.
In my 2007 ring post, I wrote about Khan’s “sixth round” in which he was hit with a right hand, followed by a series of back-to-back punches, then a hard left hand that defeat the former hand. Olympia.
Boxing World Bids A Sad Farewell To Much-Loved Willie Limondhttps://t.co/3kXZiyzxtT
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) April 30, 2024
Khan gets back up, but in his corner, trainer Oliver Harrison orders him to kneel to regain consciousness. Limond looked to be one pin away from victory, but Khan responded well, taking the storm – as he often does – and inflicting damage on Limond by knocking him out the eighth round. Worse, Limond’s time has passed.
In the end, Limond remained defiant, but his face was swollen, his nose and mouth were bleeding, and his jaw was broken. Khan has been involved in many battles in his life.
Great, more battles with good people, famous events, Limond’s victories and defeats.
Three years later, wanting to fight Khan, Limond unexpectedly fought Eric Morales in Mexico.
New York boxer Jack Hirsch commented on the fight, writing: “With little chance of victory in the most difficult circumstances, the Glaswegian was out on the blue before the comments from 54,000 fans.
Hirsch talked about how Limond “boxed beautifully”, especially in the first three rounds, but in the end Morales won, knocking Willie down three times and ending his undefeated run.
Limond lost to future world champion Anthony Crolla in November 2011 and just two fights later, he and Willie became friends for the rest of his life. Crolla coaches Willie’s son Jack, a young professional athlete. This is straight boxing news.
“My relationship with Willie,” continued a sad Crolla, “I think in any job you meet good people and bad people, and boxing is no exception, but Willie one of the nicest people i’ve ever met in my life.
– This is heartbreaking. I think the voters say a lot about his character. The turnout was amazing and she was so proud of her two sons and their families. It’s hard to believe he’s gone. Of course. He is the most intelligent person. Even the day before he died, he researched something to help my father (Crolla’s father had early signs of dementia), and he sent it to me through voice. phone…I ——I didn’t think it would happen. . the last time I heard him speak.
Yesterday, Scottish websites were flooded with images of a grieving Crolla, although Glasgow looked gloomy and the sky was still grey, thanks to the familiarity of Willie Limond who bonded with those who were there like brothers. . In the years since Crolla and Limond’s boxing match, the Manchester champion has had it easier than many thought, but Boxing News reports that “Willy refused to quit ,” after the twelfth round. Typical lemon. with all the heart. Yesterday, Willie’s two sons, Jack and Drew, shared similar stories from those who heard their story and said goodbye to their father.
Hundreds of grieving boxers attended the funeral, including Alex Arthur, Gary Thornhill, Paul Smith, Billy Nelson, Ricky Burns, Jamie Kang Lang and Stephen Simmons. – I met Willie when I was 13 and I lived with him. We have a lot in common. We soon became friends. “We boxed together in Scotland a few times in the junior division and we had a very close relationship there,” recalls Arthur, the former WBO superweight champion.
– I remember one day when we were together, we had a baby jelly bag boxing in Ireland and Willie and I were struggling with weight. I told Willie, “Jelly babies don’t add weight, but they give you a lot of energy.”
“We didn’t know, we didn’t know what we were doing… So I bit off the jelly baby’s head and gave Willy his legs. So Willy asked what his legs were good for of the head. I said, “I’ll share with you, those are my jelly babies and he laughed and tried to take the bag from my hand and it exploded on the floor and we fell haha ” Laughing, I picked it up and ate it.
“Our fight is over, it’s all business,” said Arthur himself after knocking out Limond in the eighth round in 2003. Dinner. – Our relationship has grown stronger since then when he coached my son Alex, who boxed for Scotland, a few weeks ago while [another son Arthur] was playing ] Mahlan to the National competition, so we talk almost every day. We almost always talk on Friday nights and I told him on Friday night the night before he went to the hospital and I’m still having a hard time not telling him he’s crazy.
“He was probably my best friend in boxing and he will be sorely missed by everyone in Scotland, especially his sons Jack and Drew, who are lovely young men and I will be here to help as much as I can. I will help them as much as I can because he will do the same for my children.
Mourners gathered on Monday to say goodbye to the fearless and legendary boxer, a brilliant and skilled boxer with a brilliant boxing brain who fought Olympians, legends, journeymen and heavyweights. Limond smiles, makes friends and builds relationships that have stood the test of time.
Willie Limond’s life was full, if very short. Tris Dixon covered her first boxing match in 1996. Trust funds and fraternity circles. He is a former boxing announcer for TNT Sports and hosts the popular Boxing Life Stories podcast. Dixon is a member of the British Boxing Association, a voter in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, a member of The Ring’s executive committee, and the author of five boxing books, including Injury: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing , Fighter : A fighter’s search for his identity and path leads nowhere: a journey into the boxing wilderness.
