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.”
