GEORGE Liddard is the new British and Commonwealth middleweight champion after stopping Kieron Conway in round 10 of their main event clash at York Hall this evening. It was a coming-of-age moment for Liddard, who picked up the belts at just 23.
The evening started off badly for Conway as he sweated over Liddard’s speed. The champion’s nose was bleeding as a result of the challenger’s additional hand speed.
No doubt expecting to take over down the stretch, Conway was slipping behind by the start of the fifth as Liddard’s left jab snapped his head back and forth.
Liddard was just quicker in every department. The hands, feet and thinking were collective steps ahead. Conway’s laboured single shots went out, but the gloves returned too slow to avoid any counter punches.
Conway was dropped in the ninth. Not quite a Trevor Berbick up-and-down triple fall, but he took a while to find his way to the canvas as Liddard winged in shots. It appeared like Conway’s corner team was looking closely with a towel on the way.
The Northampton man made it through the session somehow. His face was a slashed-up mess, however, as Liddard’s fans roared their approval. The hovering towel finally entered the ring at 49 seconds of round 10 as Conway, 23-4-1 (7 KOs), soaked up even more punishment, by now nursing arm, hand and possible shoulder damage.
“It just goes to show the power of the law of attraction,” said Liddard, who improved to 13-0 (8 KOs).
“Respect to him but ‘and the new’ get up! We’re fighters, go out for the kill and get the win, that’s just the way it is.”
Conway adds: “George is a good fighter; it was hard to get that rhythm. I’m 29 years old, I feel like I’m coming into my peak, we’ll see what’s next.”
