MY NEW BEGINNING IN SHEFFIELD

‘The Machine’, as Liam Williams likes to be known by felt in need of a service and the change of a few parts in recent months. The key component he decided to swap over – with a heavy heart, it must be said – was that of his trainer and the big-hitting super welterweight is now perfecting his craft under the tutelage of Dominic Ingle in Sheffield. In his latest Fighter Diary, Liam explains in his own words just why he elected to ring the changes…

FIGHTER DIARY BY LIAM WILLIAMS

I THINK MY decision to part with my trainer Gary Lockett came as a surprise to a lot of people. I had been thinking about it for a little while and it was just that I was becoming a bit stale, a bit fed up.

I felt that I had to make a move or it would be a case of watching my career go down the pan.

One hundred per cent I needed a fresh approach to rejuvenate myself. I tell people this and I think a lot of the time they think there is more to it than there is.

It is genuinely not the case. I just became fed up with being in the same surroundings, although not the same people because I always had good people around me.

I believe I now have the right people around me, not so much in the gym, but outside I am living in a more professional manner.

The usual temptations are always there when you have your home comforts around you. My friends might go ‘ do you want to come to Nandos?’ or ‘do you want to come to Miller & Carter?’. It might be like chicken or steak but this stuff isn’t part of my diet.

That is just a little example of why it was best for me to up sticks and switch to Sheffield.

It was a very hard conversation to have with Gary, very difficult, and to honest I struggled to have it and was putting it off for a week or two.

I came back from holiday and it was like ‘right, this is the time’ because I didn’t want to start again in the gym and make Gary believe that everything was okay.

Gary was obviously shocked, but he understood as well. Obviously he was never really going to be happy but it is what it is. He wants the best for me as much as I want it for him and I have got a lot of respect for Gary – he is my best friend inside boxing.

I will always have a lot of time for him and I am pretty sure he has the same for me. We will always get on and I have been to his house to visit him since and there are really no hard feelings.

Which takes me to how I ended up with Dominic Ingle in Sheffield. I have been there a good few times in recent months sparring with Jason Quigley and Kell Brook.

I did a little bit of pads with Dom before my last fight, so roughly two months ago, and it somehow felt right. It confirmed to me that I needed a change, so I grabbed the bull by the horns.

I would rather regret trying something than regret not trying it.

How it is working out for me at the moment is that I am getting to Sheffield on a Sunday and coming home on a Wednesday. I’m just doing three days but I am also working at home and keeping up with my running – just generally keeping fit.

As soon as I get a hundred per cent date set to fight I will be doing five days a week up there.

It will mean spending more time with Billy Joe Saunders, but he is good as gold and I love him – he is great fun. There is never a dull moment in the gym with him and, when being away from home gets difficult, you need someone like him that you can have a good laugh with.

From what I am hearing at the moment, I expect to get another run out in September – perhaps another eight rounder – before hopefully getting to fight JJ Metcalf in November for his WBC International belt.

I want that fight.