Gary Lockett expects Liam Williams to announce his retirement.
The trainer rescued his fighter, 31, in the first round of his fight in February with the promising Hamzah Sheeraz, after watching him twice get knocked down.
Williams, according to Lockett, is “struggling” to adjust to a new life that doesn’t involve being a professional fighter, but knows that his career is at an end.
“He knows where he’s at,” Lockett said. “I can’t really announce anything but he knows where he’s at; he knows that that wasn’t him in there, so he knows he’s got a decision to make.
“I do [expect him to announce his retirement], yeah. He told me [so].
“He’s coming to terms with it, and he’s struggling. He’s struggling with the routine. He goes to the gym; trains; then says, ‘That’s an hour wasted – what do I do next?’. He’s designing a gym – he’s got a great big garage out the back of his house – so he’s designing a gym to train people and different things like that.
“He’s done well [financially]. He’s done well. The problem is, where someone comes to the end of their career, a lot of the problem is with a lot of the boxers – that fight that they’ve just had, and that they haven’t won… that’s the only purse they’ve got left. Liam’s different. He’s done well for himself. Absolutely [he’s secure]. Don’t get me wrong – he can’t just stick his feet up for the rest of his life, but he’s done really well. He’s got a lot of property; he’s a switched-on guy.”
As an active fighter Lockett, like Williams, fought for a middleweight world title. Optimism is growing around the 24-year-old Sheeraz that he, too, will prove a world-level fighter, and Lockett said: “He looks very good. He looks really good. He can really punch.
“Time will tell. You’re not seeing a prime Liam Williams there, so we can’t really judge, and that’s not running Hamzah down in any shape or form. He’s a dangerman; he’s a very, very good fighter, but moving forward, as he moves up the levels, it’ll be interesting to see how he does.
“But what a lovely kid. Really respectful; really, really nice kid. I saw him – the things he said to me after the fight – and then I saw him the next morning at breakfast. Lovely guy, and sometimes it just makes it that little bit easier losing – knowing you’d lost to a nice kid.”