Liam Williams announces retirement from boxing over health fears following ‘multiple concussions’ – as Welsh star reveals he fought Chris Eubank Jnr ‘against medical advice’

Liam Williams has announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 32, with the Welsh star revealing his concerns after suffering “multiple concussions”.

Williams won British, European and Commonwealth titles during his career and contested world titles at both middleweight and super welterweight.

His last professional fight came in February, when he was stopped by Hamzah Sheeraz in the first round of their middleweight fight at the Copper Box Arena in London.

The result left Williams with a professional record of 25 wins, five losses and one draw, with 20 of his victories coming by knockout.

Williams told the BBC he realized after the fight that he had “taken too much” and revealed his concerns about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Welsh boxing star Liam Williams has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 32

Williams suffered a first-round loss to Hamzah Sheeraz in his last fight in February.

He admitted that concussion concerns led to the decision to end his boxing career

A degenerative brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head.

Over time, these attacks result in the buildup of tau protein around the brain, which can cause confusion, depression, and eventually dementia.

Williams revealed that he suffered three or four concussions over an 18-month period.

He bounced back from back-to-back losses to Liam Smith in 2017 by winning his next seven fights, leading to a WBO middleweight title clash with Demetrius Andrade in April 2021.

Williams said he suffered an elbow concussion in his unanimous decision loss to Andrade, before suffering another in a sparring session before facing Chris Eubank Jnr in February 2022.

The 32-year-old admitted he ignored medical advice to step into the ring against Eubank, who beat him via unanimous decision.

“I probably shouldn’t say this, but a doctor told me not to fight Eubank as I had concussion again,” Williams told the BBC.

‘I had a concussion from an elbow in the Andrade fight, in sparring, I probably knew I shouldn’t box Eubank, but there was a lot of money on the table.

‘The fight was in Cardiff and I sold a lot of tickets. I sold £200,000 worth of tickets from my house, it was crazy.

Williams admitted he ignored medical advice to fight Chris Eubank Jnr in 2022

The boxer said he ‘had no resistance to punches’ and should have listened to advice not to fight

“I didn’t want to disappoint people, so I didn’t say anything.

‘I had no resistance against Eubank. Obviously I should have heard about not fighting.’

There is no suggestion, however, that Williams failed a British Boxing Board of Control medical.

Williams has previously trained with Nick Blackwell, who spent nine days in an induced coma after suffering a bleed on the brain in the 2016 defeat to Eubank Jnr.

He was then in his friend Dale Evans’ corner six months later as he defeated undefeated welterweight Mike Towell. Towell was hospitalized after the fight and died from his injuries the next day.

Williams acknowledged that he had recently messaged his manager to get a fight, before canceling the request the next day, stating that it was the “right decision to retire.”