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]
 Meehan playing for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in 2016. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Willis Pele Meehan | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 11 September 1995 Auckland, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 115 kg (18 st 2 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row, Prop, Lock | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | The Hitman | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Southpaw | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Draws | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| No contests | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editBorn 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
editIn 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
editAs 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
edit| 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 |  Attila Kalman
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UD | 6 | 30 Aug 2019 |  The Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia
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| 8 | Win | 8–0 |  Julián Esteban Ruiz
|
KO | 1 (6), 0:44 | 1 Mar 2019 | The Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia
|
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| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Richard Nemeth
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TKO | 1 (6), 1:36 | 17 Nov 2018 | The Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia
|
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| 6 | Win | 6–0 |  Jonasa Kavika
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KO | 2 (8), 2:13 | 6 Jul 2018 | Roma Function Centre, Sydney, Australia
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Won vacant WBF (Foundation) Australasian heavyweight title |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 |  Riki Barclay
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TKO | 1 (6), 1:02 | 27 Apr 2016 | Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia
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| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Leamy Lakopo Tato
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TKO | 2 (4), 0:30 | 15 Oct 2015 | The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
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| 3 | Win | 3–0 |  Freddie Miller
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TKO | 2 (4), 2:43 | 31 Jan 2015 | Allphones Arena, Sydney, Australia
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| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Alofa Solitua
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KO | 1 (4), 1:28 | 3 Dec 2014 | Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia
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| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Will Quarrie
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UD | 4 | 22 Nov 2014 | North Shore Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
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Personal life
editMeehan 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
edit- ^ "Willis Meehan - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 11 September 1995. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
- ^ a b PHIL ROTHFIELD (12 July 2013). "The new version of Sonny Bill Williams has been discovered". THE DAILY TELEGRAPH. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ LIAM NAPIER (3 November 2014). "Talented Meehan junior mixing things up". Stuff.co.nz. Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ "rleague.com has been shutdown". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
- ^ "Late Mail: Sydney set to welcome its newest Rooster". roosters.com.au. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "HOLDEN CUP TEAM OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015.
- ^ "Sydney Roosters youngster Willis Meehan to be stood down for alleged casino assault". ABC News (Australia). 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ Rothfield, Phil (19 July 2015). "Roosters forced to sack boom forward Willis Meehan after a series of off-field issues". dailytelegraph.com.au.
- ^ "Parramatta Sign Troubled NRL Player, Effective Immediately". www.triplem.com.au.
- ^ a b Kieza, Grantlee (5 April 2014). "Sydney Roosters teenager Willis Meehan on track for Commonwealth Games boxing spot". couriermail.com.au.
- ^ 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.
- ^ CHRIS BARCLAY (1 February 2015). "Sonny Bill Williams wins comfortable unanimous decision". Stuff. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "Sydney Roosters forward Willis Meehan stood down after headbutting a man and stealing his watch". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Boxing: Meehan Jr credits SBW for turnaround". NZ Herald. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
External links
edit- Sydney Roosters profile
- Boxing record for Willis Meehan from BoxRec (registration required)