Born in the notorious Hendon neighbourhood, Sunderland, Willie Neil would take over the mantle of local boxing legend Jack Casey as the second ‘Sunderland Assassin’ to hail from the area.The nickname was originally given to Willie by BBC commentator Harry Carpenter OBE, who covered 1988 ABA final, which featured an aggressive tussle between him and Wayne Ellis.

Willie started boxing as a way of freeing himself from a lifestyle that was only leading in one direction: “I’m not meaning to sound dramatic”, said Willie, “but if it hadn’t had been for boxing I would have probably ended up in prison or something. Where I was from, you had to be able to look after yourself or you wouldn’t be able to get along in life, tough neighbourhoods breed champions.”

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