WILLY HUTCHINSON might well be the brightest boxing prospect that Scotland doesn’t realise it has.
An Anglicised accent formed during a meandering upbringing does not immediately alert listeners to the fact that this is someone of Caledonian stock, the only Scot to win a world amateur title, a man once signed and trained by David Haye, who now works under Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions banner and has lost just once in 18 professional contests. Not bad for a lad from Carstairs.
His profile has enjoyed a significant boost in recent weeks. Hutchinson is one of the protagonists in tomorrow’s 5 vs 5 event, selected by Warren as one of his fighters set to go up against a quintet handpicked by Eddie Hearn from his Matchroom stable in front of another eclectic Saudi crowd of rich sheiks and showbiz and sporting celebrities.
With both Matchroom and Queensberry giving the whole thing the full razzamatazz build-up – a Hollywood-style promotional video featured Hutchinson as a character known as The Chef – it has almost overshadowed the fact this is shaping up to be a pivotal night in the 25-year-old’s career.
Facing him in their light-heavyweight contest is Craig “Spider” Richards, a veteran competitor who went the distance with both Dmitry Bivol and Joshua Buatsi before losing both on points, two of just three defeats on his record.
It has become increasingly spiky and antagonistic in the build-up, perhaps a sign of just how much is at stake. Hutchinson, though, remains supremely confident that this will serve as just another stepping stone on his way to the top.
“I’m feeling good, focused, cool, calm and collected,” he says. “I want the world to see what Willy Hutchinson is all about. I don’t think they’ve even seen an inch of what I’m capable of. I believe in this fight I’m going to showcase my skills and everyone is going to see what I can do.
“There’s a risk attached every time you get in the ring. You could be facing a nobody and they could still give you a hard time. But I’ve been doing this since I was nine years old. I don’t know any different.
“I’m here to win. And then it’s on to bigger and better things once I beat this old man. This is just another notch on my way to the top. He’s in my way and I just have to get past him. He’s a step up from who I’ve fought in the past, 100 percent. But I’m more than capable of beating him.”
Given his amateur pedigree and turbo-charged start to his professional career, it looked like Hutchinson was on course to compete for world titles long before now. Then came the one blot on his record, a surprise defeat to Lennox Clarke in March 2021 that stopped him in his tracks.
Hutchinson didn’t fight again for another 15 months and came close to quitting altogether. He ducks and weaves around just what was happening in his personal life at that time but it was significant enough for him to take a step back and revaluate everything. In doing so, he found contentment inside and out of the ring.
“I’m a massive believer that boxing is 95 percent mental and you need to be in a good place and happy if you want to succeed,” he adds. “If you add training and talent to that then you’re all set to go all the way.
“That was the change that I made. I’m now very happy in my personal life and everything is going well for me. People only see what goes on during fight night but nobody sees what goes on behind the scenes in boxing.
“There’s a lot more to it than just turning up to fight. It’s just about trying to keep yourself right every day. Even now there are days when you could feel perfect one minute and then an hour later you’re down in the dumps. But it’s about how you deal with it.
“I couldn’t have cared less about the Clarke fight. I had personal issues that were a lot bigger than boxing at the time. I was a young, stupid lad. Greedy you could say.
“But it was also one of the best things that ever happened to me. If I had won that fight I would never have boxed again. That would have been it for me. I wouldn’t have made the changes that I did and I wouldn’t be in this position now. So it’s all about learning and progression. You just have to do what makes you happy. And life away from boxing is very good for me right now. I’m a happy man.”
Like many troubled stars before him, Hutchinson credits religion for getting him back on the righteous path.
“I try to keep myself positive most of the time but when I get down God helps me through it,” he adds. “Religion is a big part of my life now. I believe I wouldn’t be where I’m at today if it weren’t for God putting the right people in the right places to help me. I’m grateful for everything.”
Hutchinson may be largely unknown in his homeland but he remains Scottish to his core and proud of it. With Josh Taylor’s star on the wane and others like Nathaniel Collins and Lee McGregor still short of elite level, Hutchinson could realistically become the country’s next world champion.
“When I’m at home I live near Carlisle in the Borders but still on the Scotland side,” he insists. “People always forget that I’m Scottish but there’s not an inch of English in this body. I’m out here flying the flag for Scotland.”
