George Hillyard?

[johnswan1]

Anybody know what this guy is doing lately?

I remember back in November there was talk about him fighting Bradley Pryce, but Lomax fought him instead.

There was a lot of hype about Hillyard when he was starting out. Big following, his own website, coming off two 1st round KO wins and he went into his third fight against 12-87-5 Ernie Smith... and lost! I was there that night at the York Hall and Ernie earned his win well, although I did think he was going to be robbed of it.

Since then George has been a big underachiever. It seems he just doesn't have the dedication to the sport.

After he lost to Thirlwall he was interviewed on Sky Sports and was saying he'd get his act together and come back stronger, etc, etc.

Anybody know what his plans are now and whether he'll ever amount to anything? Record shows 10-5, could he be a late bloomer if he gets it together or was he just a hype job?

[johnswan1]

Ah, here it is, he's talking about two fights for Goodwin Promotions, in April and June and hopes to be challenging for British titles by year end.

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/BN08/detail.asp?id=1663

George tells Dean Parr where it all went wrong

CANNING TOWN’S George Hillyard, 9-5-1 has not had the greatest last three years boxing-wise. From not making weight for the welterweight Prizefighter in October 2008 to going out in the opening round of the light-middle edition of Matchroom’s tournament last month, things haven’t gone to plan for the once highly-touted prospect. However, there have been several occurences out of the ring that have hindered Hillyard’s rise.

“No one’s really known what’s happened to me in the last three years,” said George. “My grandad had a heart attack [in December 2008], and my grandma, who was at the top of the stairs, when trying to help him, fell down the stairs and had a heart attack as well. My grandad died, and my nan was in a coma for three months. This meant we didn’t know whether my grandma was going to die, so we didn’t bury my grandad for three months. My nan survived though thankfully.”

After that tragedy, the strains on Hillyard’s personal life continued to build. “Then, I had a baby boy, born on January 2 2009, who was born premature and pronounced partially blind, which put another dampener on things. I took fights at short notice, and I basically just messed about for the whole two to three years. I lied to my trainers because I didn’t want to tell them that I had a problem, and then with all the problems with my grandad dying, it put so much strain on the family that my dad had to look after my grandma, and he ended up losing his company.”

“Because of this pressure on the family,” he continued, “I just took fights at silly notice, and that’s why my career went off the radar. People have been saying, ‘George Hillyard’s just turning up chubby now and not training,’ but people never knew the real reasons for that and what was going on. I’m going to go back down to welterweight now though, and in Prizefighter, as you could see, I was the lightest in the weight and very fit, but you could also see that I’m a 10-round fighter, not a three-round one and that I prefer the longer distances. The three rounds just never suited me, but I think this year’s going to be a big one for me to get my career back on track, and people are going to see the real George Hillyard. It’s just been manic and a very stressful time, and I wanted to tell people, because people think I’m unprofessional and that I don’t take boxing seriously.”

Thankfully, “The Grill” now believes he is coming out of the other side. “I’m definitely getting back on track,” reflected George. “I’ve got a great team behind me now, with Terry Steward, my trainer, Mickey Amoo, my manager, and everyone who trains with me at the LA Gym in Loughton. It’s good because I’m getting looked after so much better now, and I’ve got no-one to blame apart from myself for being unprofessional previously. I’m more motivated now. People think that I don’t take boxing seriously, but this year, you’re going to see the real George Hillyard come through and what I’m about. My name’s going to be back up there. It’s not on the map at the moment, but it will by the end of this year.”

Last time out, George, a footballer in his youth, endured a disappointment in the light-middleweight Prizefighter tournament, losing to Prince Arron, the eventual winner, on points in the quarter-finals. However, a rematch with the Droylsden native doesn’t interest him. “Prince Arron’s not going to fight at light-middleweight – he couldn’t make the 11st limit. He just about made 11st 2lbs, and he’s massive for the weight. If I was to fight him again though, I’d want to do it over 10 rounds, not three. I would also say that I was the only one that really put up a fight against him. I couldn’t believe how he completely outjabbed Bradley Pryce and made him look ordinary, and then he easily won the final just by using his jab.”

George was also full of praise for his fans that night. “I’ve always got great support,” revealed Hillyard, “And they back me because the majority of them know the problems I’ve had over the last few years. We sold 370 tickets that night; that was all we were allowed because of the other boxers.”

Now, Hillyard has two fights to look forward to under the banner of Goodwin Promotions, and his situation is a lot brighter than that of a couple of years ago. “I’ve got two shows with them [the Goodwins]; one on April 24, and then on the June 19,” revealed Hillyard. “I don’t think there’s a signed deal yet – I’m just boxing on their shows. We’ll see what happens, but hopefully we can work something out down the line, because my career will expand after this. I’ll be looking at British titles by the end of this year.”

[lefty]

Ah, here it is, he's talking about two fights for Goodwin Promotions, in April and June and hopes to be challenging for British titles by year end.

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/BN08/detail.asp?id=1663

George tells Dean Parr where it all went wrong

CANNING TOWN’S George Hillyard, 9-5-1 has not had the greatest last three years boxing-wise. From not making weight for the welterweight Prizefighter in October 2008 to going out in the opening round of the light-middle edition of Matchroom’s tournament last month, things haven’t gone to plan for the once highly-touted prospect. However, there have been several occurences out of the ring that have hindered Hillyard’s rise.

“No one’s really known what’s happened to me in the last three years,” said George. “My grandad had a heart attack [in December 2008], and my grandma, who was at the top of the stairs, when trying to help him, fell down the stairs and had a heart attack as well. My grandad died, and my nan was in a coma for three months. This meant we didn’t know whether my grandma was going to die, so we didn’t bury my grandad for three months. My nan survived though thankfully.”

After that tragedy, the strains on Hillyard’s personal life continued to build. “Then, I had a baby boy, born on January 2 2009, who was born premature and pronounced partially blind, which put another dampener on things. I took fights at short notice, and I basically just messed about for the whole two to three years. I lied to my trainers because I didn’t want to tell them that I had a problem, and then with all the problems with my grandad dying, it put so much strain on the family that my dad had to look after my grandma, and he ended up losing his company.”

“Because of this pressure on the family,” he continued, “I just took fights at silly notice, and that’s why my career went off the radar. People have been saying, ‘George Hillyard’s just turning up chubby now and not training,’ but people never knew the real reasons for that and what was going on. I’m going to go back down to welterweight now though, and in Prizefighter, as you could see, I was the lightest in the weight and very fit, but you could also see that I’m a 10-round fighter, not a three-round one and that I prefer the longer distances. The three rounds just never suited me, but I think this year’s going to be a big one for me to get my career back on track, and people are going to see the real George Hillyard. It’s just been manic and a very stressful time, and I wanted to tell people, because people think I’m unprofessional and that I don’t take boxing seriously.”

Thankfully, “The Grill” now believes he is coming out of the other side. “I’m definitely getting back on track,” reflected George. “I’ve got a great team behind me now, with Terry Steward, my trainer, Mickey Amoo, my manager, and everyone who trains with me at the LA Gym in Loughton. It’s good because I’m getting looked after so much better now, and I’ve got no-one to blame apart from myself for being unprofessional previously. I’m more motivated now. People think that I don’t take boxing seriously, but this year, you’re going to see the real George Hillyard come through and what I’m about. My name’s going to be back up there. It’s not on the map at the moment, but it will by the end of this year.”

Last time out, George, a footballer in his youth, endured a disappointment in the light-middleweight Prizefighter tournament, losing to Prince Arron, the eventual winner, on points in the quarter-finals. However, a rematch with the Droylsden native doesn’t interest him. “Prince Arron’s not going to fight at light-middleweight – he couldn’t make the 11st limit. He just about made 11st 2lbs, and he’s massive for the weight. If I was to fight him again though, I’d want to do it over 10 rounds, not three. I would also say that I was the only one that really put up a fight against him. I couldn’t believe how he completely outjabbed Bradley Pryce and made him look ordinary, and then he easily won the final just by using his jab.”

George was also full of praise for his fans that night. “I’ve always got great support,” revealed Hillyard, “And they back me because the majority of them know the problems I’ve had over the last few years. We sold 370 tickets that night; that was all we were allowed because of the other boxers.”

Now, Hillyard has two fights to look forward to under the banner of Goodwin Promotions, and his situation is a lot brighter than that of a couple of years ago. “I’ve got two shows with them [the Goodwins]; one on April 24, and then on the June 19,” revealed Hillyard. “I don’t think there’s a signed deal yet – I’m just boxing on their shows. We’ll see what happens, but hopefully we can work something out down the line, because my career will expand after this. I’ll be looking at British titles by the end of this year.”

Good luck to him,it certainly sounds like he's had a rough time!

[whiskey]

Yeah, good luck George.

Let's hope he finally gets some good fortune.

[pnejon]

Those fights in april and june he was talking about were actually last year! Neither fight went ahead. He's been inactive since july 2010.
Did you know he used to play football for West Ham and Leyton Orient - then he met Barry Hearn and turned to boxing.

[johnswan1]

Those fights in april and june he was talking about were actually last year! Neither fight went ahead. He's been inactive since july 2010.
Did you know he used to play football for West Ham and Leyton Orient - then he met Barry Hearn and turned to boxing.

Really? His website shows the link posted by "Admin" on 27/12/10!

So does anybody know what he is doing then?

The Prince Arron fight was in Feb, which this article refers to as "last time out" and his only fight since then was the one in July at the York Hall.

Doesn't sound promising at all.

[celerygolf]

Unfortunately will never fight again as failed medical.

[johnswan1]

Unfortunately will never fight again as failed medical.

Why, what happened?

[celerygolf]

Failed brainscan!!

[palooka]

Unfortunately will never fight again as failed medical.

celerygolf; You know your eastend and essex stuff inside out so I'll take it as Gospel. I sincerely hope that George is fine; he really came across as being a good lad. Hope he has a happy and successful life outside the ropes.

[Des1]

Brain scan has not failed, there was just a query in the scan. Does not mean that he hasn't passed it and does not mean that he wont box again. George would have prefered that none of this came out until things confirmed.

[hurlock]

george imo is a natural, but dosent have focus at all he messes about & i thought with how somtimes he eats shot's might be brain, but then maybe drug's??????if the kid could concentrate he'd be a force, he has all the ingrediANt's.

[Des1]

george imo is a natural, but dosent have focus at all he messes about & i thought with how somtimes he eats shot's might be brain, but then maybe drug's??????if the kid could concentrate he'd be a force, he has all the ingrediANt's.

Drugs? Why would you assume that?

[hurlock]

george imo is a natural, but dosent have focus at all he messes about & i thought with how somtimes he eats shot's might be brain, but then maybe drug's??????if the kid could concentrate he'd be a force, he has all the ingrediANt's.

Drugs? Why would you assume that?

he seem's the erratic type who couldnt give a monkey's. that's the perception i get.

[Des1]

george imo is a natural, but dosent have focus at all he messes about & i thought with how somtimes he eats shot's might be brain, but then maybe drug's??????if the kid could concentrate he'd be a force, he has all the ingrediANt's.

Drugs? Why would you assume that?

he seem's the erratic type who couldnt give a monkey's. that's the perception i get.

Well, if that's your view I can assure that he isn't involved in drugs whatsoever. He hasn't had the most smooth life and a few things run deep emotionally with him.

[celerygolf]

George is a real family man and hopefully will box again. Would never be involved in drugs, that's for sure.

[1southpaw]

he's doing the london marathion this year with mark delaney and pj gallagher