BOXING SPECIAL: WILLIE HAS A DREAM
He’s fought for and won the British and Commonwealth light welterweight titles. He’s one of Scotland’s most prolific boxing heroes.
But now Willie Limond has got a new goal of finding a champion fighter right in the heart of Cambuslang.
The 38-year-old has recently taken over the gym on Hamilton Road and has since signed two boxers to his promotion label – one of them being up-and-coming star Gary Ducie.
And with the help of a new- look facility and a soon to be refurbished gymnasium, Willie’s boxers will have the base to prepare for future title-deciding bouts.
Willie trains with fellow Cambuslang coach Peter Harrison so he is aware of the talents lurking around the town. He also reckons Cambuslang is the perfect place to breed champions.
Willie said: “It’s a busy place, it’s a hustle bustle place and it’s good to have the gym in Cambuslang.
“Peter Harrison is my trainer and he stays round the corner. His son Scott was from Cambuslang and we’ve had good fighters from Cambuslang and round about this area.
“In the last two weeks I’ve seen a lot of the old faces coming back to the gym. So it’s starting to get a good feeling around the place. The place is buzzing.”
Limond’s Gym has two rooms. A gym packed with weight machines, while downstairs includes punch bags and a boxing ring. The keep-fit classes are also proving to be a big hit.
Willie explained how he came about taking over the facility.
He said: “It’s weird. Before all this happened, I used to drive by here. There was no sign on it when it wasn’t open and I thought, ‘What a gym that would be’. Turns out it was a gym.
“My pal Jason Drummond works next door and said the boy who owned it started to let it slip a little bit, so he asked me if I wanted to take over.
“I’ve been in the gym since I was sixyears-old so to have your own gym is great. It’s a good base.
“We’ve got two rooms and there will be a lot of changes happening. We’ve fixed up the outside, we’ve got new treadmills coming, a sauna downstairs, new dressing rooms and showers and they’ll all be tiled. From top to bottom it’s getting a major make-over but we’re still keeping the same foundations.”
It may only have been a month since Willie took over the site, but family and friends have helped him turn the gym into a place he hopes one day will produce a world-class boxer. Former
In the last two weeks I’ve seen a lot of old faces coming back to the gym – it’s buzzing
Willie Limond
O’Neils BC member Gary Ducie has signed up to Willie’s promotion label and is already in contention to fight on April 22.
He admits signing more boxers to his roster wasn’t in his plans when opening the gym but is glad he came across 21-year-old Cambus lad Gary.
He said: “Since I took over I’ve signed two fighters and one of them is from Cambuslang. I know how a boxer fights. You want to fight for titles. You want to have a bit of prestige to say, ‘I’ve won that title’. In a year and half’s time that’s what Gary will be doing.
“Gary has been an amateur and that’s him now a pro. He just got a bit stale from being amateur. We’ve got a right good team behind us here so Gary will be fighting for a title in a couple of years, no doubt about it.
“I turned pro at 20 and it’s a great age to turn pro. He’s got the potential to go far. I’m wondering if Gary is the next guy from Cambuslang who is going to make an impact in the sport.
“At the moment, we’ve got four out of six fighters fighting for titles.”
Willie is still waiting on confirmation of who he’ll fight at the SSE Hydro on Ricky Burns’ undercard next month but insists he will be fighting in September.
And his new gym, will be the perfect place to prepare and build on what has already been a glittering boxing career.