Willis Meehan

Willis Pele "The Hitman" Meehan (born 11 September 1995) is an Australian professional boxer.[2][3] He previously played professional rugby league for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League. He played at second-row, prop and lock. He has been compared to good friend and another rugby league-boxer and former teammate Sonny Bill Williams.[2]

Willis Meehan
Meehan playing for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in 2016.
Personal information
Full nameWillis Pele Meehan
Born (1995-09-11) 11 September 1995
Auckland, New Zealand
Playing information
Height195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight115 kg (18 st 2 lb)
PositionSecond-row, Prop, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014 Sydney Roosters 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
Boxing career
Statistics
Nickname(s)The Hitman
Weight(s)Heavyweight
NationalityAustralian
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights11
Wins11
Wins by KO9
Losses0
Draws0
No contests0

Background

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Meehan moved to New South Wales, Australia, at a young age and played his junior football for the West Ryde Aliens and Wyong Roos before being signed by the Sydney Roosters.

Playing career

In 2013 and 2014, Meehan played for the Sydney Roosters' NYC team.[4] In 2013, he played for the Australian Schoolboys. In Round 14 of the 2014 NRL season, Meehan made his NRL debut for the Roosters against the Newcastle Knights.[5] On 2 September 2014, he was named at lock in the 2014 NYC Team of the Year.[6] In 2015, Meehan was stood down by the Roosters after being charged with robbery in company and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.[7] He was sacked by the club in July 2015.[8] Meehan later played for Manly and the Auburn Warriors in the lower grades. In 2017, he signed a contract with Parramatta but was blocked from playing in the NRL for the 2017 NRL season. He instead played for the clubs feeder team Wentworthville.[9]

Boxing

As a 17-year-old, Meehan won the Australian super-heavyweight boxing title and hoped to fight at the Commonwealth Games,[10] narrowly missing out. In 2016, he hopes to fight at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[11]

On 31 January 2015, Meehan fought on the undercard of the Sonny Bill Williams v Chauncy Welliver bout.[12]

On 15 November 2015, Meehan defeated Leamy Tato; however, the main event saw Meehan's father defeated by Joseph Parker.[13]

Professional boxing record
9 fights 9 wins 0 losses
By knockout 7 0
By decision 2 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
9 Win 9–0 Hungary Attila Kalman UD 6 30 Aug 2019 Australia The Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia
8 Win 8–0 Argentina Julián Esteban Ruiz KO 1 (6), 0:44 1 Mar 2019 Australia The Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia
7 Win 7–0 Hungary Richard Nemeth TKO 1 (6), 1:36 17 Nov 2018 Australia The Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia
6 Win 6–0 Fiji Jonasa Kavika KO 2 (8), 2:13 6 Jul 2018 Australia Roma Function Centre, Sydney, Australia Won vacant WBF (Foundation) Australasian heavyweight title
5 Win 5–0 New Zealand Riki Barclay TKO 1 (6), 1:02 27 Apr 2016 Australia Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia
4 Win 4–0 New Zealand Leamy Lakopo Tato TKO 2 (4), 0:30 15 Oct 2015 New Zealand The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
3 Win 3–0 United States Freddie Miller TKO 2 (4), 2:43 31 Jan 2015 Australia Allphones Arena, Sydney, Australia
2 Win 2–0 Australia Alofa Solitua KO 1 (4), 1:28 3 Dec 2014 Australia Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia
1 Win 1–0 New Zealand Will Quarrie UD 4 22 Nov 2014 New Zealand North Shore Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand

Personal life

Meehan is the son of professional boxer, Kali Meehan.[10] He converted to Islam in 2015.[14]

In April 2015, Meehan was charged with headbutting a man and stealing his watch near The Star, Sydney.[15] However, he was not convicted after his robbery in company charge was thrown out.[14] Meehan later revealed he had been working, while playing for the Roosters, as a stand-over man to settle debts for Australian Hells Angels Bikies.[16]

References
  1. "Willis Meehan - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  2. PHIL ROTHFIELD (12 July 2013). "The new version of Sonny Bill Williams has been discovered". THE DAILY TELEGRAPH. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. LIAM NAPIER (3 November 2014). "Talented Meehan junior mixing things up". Stuff.co.nz. Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  4. "rleague.com has been shutdown". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
  5. "Late Mail: Sydney set to welcome its newest Rooster". roosters.com.au. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  6. "HOLDEN CUP TEAM OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015.
  7. "Sydney Roosters youngster Willis Meehan to be stood down for alleged casino assault". ABC News (Australia). 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  8. Rothfield, Phil (19 July 2015). "Roosters forced to sack boom forward Willis Meehan after a series of off-field issues". dailytelegraph.com.au.
  9. "Parramatta Sign Troubled NRL Player, Effective Immediately". www.triplem.com.au.
  10. Kieza, Grantlee (5 April 2014). "Sydney Roosters teenager Willis Meehan on track for Commonwealth Games boxing spot". couriermail.com.au.
  11. David Riccio (8 June 2014). "Willis Meehan has been chosen as 18th man for the Roosters clash against the Storm". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  12. CHRIS BARCLAY (1 February 2015). "Sonny Bill Williams wins comfortable unanimous decision". Stuff. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  13. "Video: 'Stop the f**king fight' - Boxer pleads with referee to stop fight for opponent's sake". Independent.ie. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  14. Jamie Pandaram (9 October 2015). "Sacked Sydney Roosters player Willis Meehan reveals his role as standover man for criminal gangs". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  15. "Sydney Roosters forward Willis Meehan stood down after headbutting a man and stealing his watch". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 April 2015.
  16. "Boxing: Meehan Jr credits SBW for turnaround". NZ Herald. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
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