By Mihai Rosca, Sports Subeditor
Standing at 6”1 and fighting at 71kg of lean muscle, with an impressive resume of 7 amateur wins and 0 losses, 6 of which have been fought in the last 8 weeks, with 4 of his wins having come by way of Unanimous Decision, and one by Technical Knockout it's safe to say that Will Watson is a beast! He has quickly become one of the club's most decorated fighters having represented Bristol multiple times, most recently in Dublin and at the National University BUCS Championship (Portsmouth) where he brought home the gold. I recommend that you don't miss out when he fights again on March 1st during the Boxing Society's official Amateur Fight Night- search for the event on the SU website!
Reflecting on our interview, I realise that Will's success is the result of 3 key factors. A natural talent, discipline and his team. Before boxing, Will played Rugby for 10 years. Will told me that as early as Year 3, his teacher had jokingly written in his report card that "Rugby suits William's violent tendencies". Due to Will's desire for physical conflict he was always going to join a combat sport while at Uni, it just so happened that the Boxing trials challenged him the most leading to him sticking with boxing. Throughout our conversation I could feel Will's passion for boxing. His eyes would sparkle and he would smile from ear to ear when explaining what goes on in his mind when fighting:
“I love the balance of technique, mentality, and brutality … [in the ring] you get into a really weird place and just want to hurt whoever’s coming at you”
If he was anyone else I'd write this off as him trying to act 'ard but I believe Will is sincere. Watching him talk, it's as if he's reliving the experiences. He reminisces on his most recent fights- how one opponent giving him a submissive nod only spurred him to go even harder, the smile plastered over his face as he trades blows throughout the fight, the coaches psyching him up for the final round. No, it's clear that Will enjoys the sport for what it is.
But this talent would be nothing without hard work. As a 4th year student of Philosophy and French, he embraces a way of life that stresses the importance of freedom and individual responsibility. He names Sartre, Montaigne, Stoicism and Goggins as his biggest sources of inspiration.
Will honestly enjoys training, he admits having had problems balancing boxing with the other areas of his life: "I box 4 days a week and I'm in the gym for 3. In second year I trained 6 days a week 2-3 hours each day... I remember missing most of my best friend’s birthday because I refused to finish a random training session early."
He takes the same mindset into the ring: "Saying it out loud sounds masochistic, but I enjoy being in the grit and pain and working as hard as possible … I get satisfaction from wearing them down in the ring."
Several times in the interview he expresses his lack of concern about not yet having a loss on his record. "Amateur boxing is all about having as much experience as possible... I wouldn't mind losing because it just means that I got to fight an even better boxer - it’s just an opportunity to get better."- it really seems like you can't put this guy down.
Watson is currently training to secure a knockout at the official Amateur Boxing Fight Night on the 1st of March(Anson Rooms 18:30-22:00), where UoB boxers will be facing off against boxers from other universities to determine who's uni is the best!
Regardless of how far he's come or how far he'll go, it's clear that without the help of the University's Boxing Society and their umbrella club Downend Boxing Club Will would have never reached such heights. Downend, a registered charity in Fishponds, is made up of volunteers that love the sport who help the local community. "4 years ago when I first joined the club we held a fight night and 8 out of our 9 fighters got absolutely battered. Downend saw this and decided to step in for free."
The head coach at Downend is ex-police officer Craig and his wife Jo is a lawyer and senior England Boxing official.
The dedication of the Boxing Society's leadership also can't be ignored. Without the passion of the people involved, the club would not have come back from ruins to boast over 150 members and become one of the most popular societies at Bristol Uni.
Boxing is a tough sport and so is anyone doing it. But don't be put off by that if you're interested in joining. Give it a go, the people you will meet will help you reach your goals.
Featured image: UOB Boxing Society
