YORK Hall may witness history once again on Friday night, as George Liddard attempts a record-breaking triumph when challenging for Kieron Conway’s British middleweight title. Conway’s comparative experience could make for a difficult night.
Conway, 23-3-1 (7 KOs), has twice fought under the spotlight of Canelo undercards across the pond and has been prevalent at the peak of the domestic super-welterweight and middleweight divisions in recent years.
However, his crowning moment did not come until this May, when he knocked out Gerome Warburton to get his hands on the Lonsdale Belt at the second attempt.
In a difficult first defence, he is tasked with 23-year-old George Liddard, 12-0 (7 KOs), who has the chance to claim the British middleweight title in his thirteenth professional bout.
Victory would see Liddard become both the youngest to claim the historic belt and the quickest to do so, in terms of professional bouts, in the 119-year existence of the coveted title.
Liddard also appeared stateside during the early days of his career, but it is the boldly matched fights and subsequent wins on British soil against George Davey, Derrick Osaze and Aaron Sutton that have seen him rapidly rise into contention.
Against Conway, Liddard collides with a more seasoned dance partner —one who has shared the ring with world title contenders such as Austin Williams and Souleymane Cissokho and has excelled since moving up to 160lbs.
As a result, success for the Essex youngster will surely force heads to turn and see British fight fans recognise Liddard as one of the top prospects in the United Kingdom.
KIERON CONWAY VS GEORGE LIDDARD FIGHT PREDICTION
This fight is a genuine pick ‘em, and the confidence that Matchroom have in Liddard is clear to see by how quickly they have dared to move him, but that could come back to haunt them here.
Conway has begun punching with much more spite and power of late, aided by the additional weight allowance at middleweight, knocking out his opponent in three of his four recent outings in the division.
Similarly, Liddard has shown that he is a solid finisher by halting both Davey and Sutton, proving that he has the knack of finding the openings against opponents who are coming to win.
Therefore, despite neither man being perceived as a knockout artist, Boxing News believes that this bout will not go the distance and that one man will register a late stoppage after a gruelling and even battle.
The fact that Conway has proven his chin against high-level opposition, fought in over three times as many rounds as Liddard and twice gone the distance in 12-round affairs gives him the slightest of edges.
