George Hillyard Interview
With the next installment of Prizefighter looming, BoxrecNews’s Jon Briggs caught up with George Hillyard as he prepares to go into battle with seven other British light-middleweights.
Boxing is in George’s blood, but he did have other opportunities during his teenage years. ”My granddad was a boxer and my dad did it too but I was more into football when I was young,” admitted Hillyard.
“I played for Leyton Orient, Torquay and West Ham as a lad. When I was at Leyton Orient I signed up for boxing as I got to know promoter Barry Hearn who is the owner of the club. It was a bit weird how it all turned out but I quit football and started boxing when I was sixteen.”
George had a good career as an amateur, racking up a total of 49 fights, winning 39 with 10 loses. His pro career started in 2005 and his record stands at 9-4-1. George is not completely happy with the story so far.
“No I wasn’t happy with my career, but I am feeling good now. Back then I had a few problems, a death in the family, things weren’t working with my manager and I just went the wrong way about handling things. I have got no one else to blame apart from myself. Maybe I just wasn’t disciplined enough back then. At one point, myself Amir Khan and Kevin Mitchell were the prospects coming through but my name has fallen off the radar a bit since then,” conceded Hillyard.
George claimed his first title in 2007, winning the British masters light-middleweight belt against David Wakefield. When asked how he would like his career to progress in the next two years time George revealed he has the taste for more honours in the future. “ I would like to be, NO, I will be British and Commonwealth champion and I want to be knocking on the door for bigger titles”
George was due to fight in
“I think these tournaments are blinding, especially for people in my situation. This is my chance to get my name back in the picture. These sort of nights are what boxing is all about, it’s what boxing needs, it really livens things up. Just look at what winning the Heavyweight (Prizefighter) tournament did for Audley Harrison, its got his name right back on the map (in addition to securing
Obviously fighting 3 x 3 minute rounds doesn’t give you much time to work your opponent out like you would have in a 12 rounder. George says winning round one is vital.
“If you don’t win the first round its pretty much a struggle from then on. It’s so important to get a good start, you haven’t got that much time to go in to the fight picking your shots, you have to get in there swinging away. To a certain degree tactics can go out of the window but you still have to get in there and produce the goods”
This training camp has taken place in Loughton working with trainer Terry Steward and George is very pleased with his progress so far.
“I have really knuckled down a lot more, where in my other fights I have not been disciplined enough. In preparation for Prizefighter I have been training three times a day, I’m eating all the right foods, its all going really, really well.”
Confidence in your own ability is a must for any successful boxer. When asked what his expectations were for the tournament, Hillyard answered emphatically, “Winning it! I’m not in it to make up the numbers.”
BoxrecNews wishes George all the best for the light-middleweight Prizefighter which takes place on 26 February at the York Hall in Bethnal Green and will be televised live on Sky Sports 1.
