Liam Walsh (boxer)

Liam Walsh
Walsh in 2015
Born (1986-05-18) 18 May 1986 (age 38)
Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England
NationalityBritish
Other namesDestiny
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (171 cm)
Reach66 in (168 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights24
Wins23
Wins by KO15
Losses1

Liam Walsh (born 18 May 1986) is a British professional boxer. He challenged once for the IBF super-featherweight title in 2017. He held the Commonwealth super-featherweight title from 2010 to 2017, and the British super-featherweight title from 2014 to 2016. Liam has two brothers, both of whom are also professional boxers, most notably his twin Ryan Walsh.

Professional career

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Early career

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Walsh made his professional boxing debut on 2 February 2008 alongside his twin brother, Ryan, and their elder brother, Michael. Boxing on the same bill as Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan at London's Excel Arena, all three brothers scored winning debuts.

Liam Walsh faced journeyman Daniel Thorpe and made a quick start with a first round win. Speaking of his debut victory Walsh said "I knocked him down but he got back up. I caught him with a good right hand and I don't think he fancied the job after that."[1] Walsh followed up the victory with further wins in 2008 over journeymen Johnny Greaves and Youssef Al Hamidi. In 2009 Walsh defeated Shaun Walton, Baz Carey and Jon Baguley. In 2010 Walsh expanded his record to 9 wins against no defeats with victories over Sid Razak, Ibrar Riyaz and the Frenchman Sebastien Cornu.[2]

Commonwealth super-featherweight champion

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On 23 October 2010 Walsh headlined a bill for the first time at the York Hall in Bethnal Green. The occasion was a challenge for the Commonwealth super-featherweight title recently vacated by Scotsman Ricky Burns.[3] Walsh defeated his co-challenger for the belt, the Ghanaian Maxwell Awuku who had had a record of 20 wins and one defeat before that fight, over the full 12 rounds in a grueling contest.[4] Prior to the victory, brothers Michael and Ryan had also scored wins on the bill defeating Ian Bailey and James Ancliff respectively.[5] On 20 March 2010 Walsh made his first successful defence of the title, traveling to Wigan to beat local man John Kays with a stoppage in the 9th round.[6] The second defence of his title came on 30 September 2011 with Walsh meeting former British champion Paul Appleby in a thrilling fight at the York Hall. Despite winning in the tenth round Walsh had been knocked down and hurt in the seventh round and said afterwards that it was "definitely the hardest fight I've been in."[7]

Walsh was scheduled to fight in his first World title fight against WBO Lightweight Champion Ricky Burns on 15 December 2012 but had to withdraw from the fight due to injuries from being involved in a car crash.

British super-featherweight champion

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Liam Walsh won the British super-featherweight title in a highly contested fight against Gary Sykes. Walsh dropped Sykes in the first round and went on to dominate the fight and won a clear decision with judges scores of 119–108, 118–111 and 118–109.

Liam Walsh defended his titles on 28 February in a rematch against Joe Murray who he previously beat by Majority Decision, this time winning by 5th round TKO.

On 8 October 2016 Walsh battled undefeated Russian Andrey Kimov as a final IBF eliminator for their version of the super featherweight title. Walsh switched his stance effortlessly throughout the fight and was moving well. In a well-rounded, dominant win, Walsh managed to get the nod via unanimous decision.[8]

In his next fight, Walsh challenged Gervonta Davis for his IBF super-featherweight title. Davis started off with a sharp jab and controlled most of the action in the opening round. The second round was closer, but Davis still had the edge. In the third round, Davis managed to catch Walsh with a big shot, which wobbled the latter, opening the way for Davis so finish the fight with a flurry of big shots. Walsh got dropped, and despite beating the count, was not able to recover and another barrage of shots from Davis forced the referee to stop the fight.[8]

On 9 November 2019 Walsh battled Maxi Hughes for the vacant WBO European lightweight title. Walsh outboxed Hughes to a unanimous decision, 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 on the scorecards.[9]

Professional boxing record

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24 fights 23 wins 1 loss
By knockout 15 1
By decision 8 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
24 Win 23–1 Maxi Hughes UD 10 9 Nov 2019 York Hall, London, England Won vacant WBO European lightweight title
23 Win 22–1 Reynaldo Cajina KO 3 (8), 1:18 11 May 2019 Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England
22 Loss 21–1 Gervonta Davis TKO 3 (12), 2:11 20 May 2017 Copper Box Arena, London, England For IBF super-featherweight title
21 Win 21–0 Andrey Klimov UD 12 8 Oct 2016 Harrow Leisure Centre, London, England
20 Win 20–0 Troy James TKO 8 (12), 1:20 30 Apr 2016 Copper Box Arena, London, England Retained British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles
19 Win 19–0 Isaias Santos Sampaio KO 6 (12), 1:26 11 Jul 2015 Manchester Velodrome, Manchester, England Won WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
18 Win 18–0 Joe Murray TKO 5 (12), 1:12 28 Feb 2015 The O2 Arena, London, England Retained British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles
17 Win 17–0 Gary Sykes UD 12 29 Nov 2014 ExCeL, London, England Retained Commonwealth super featherweight title;
Won British super-featherweight title
16 Win 16–0 Kevin Hooper KO 4 (10), 3:05 26 Jul 2014 Phones 4u Arena, Manchester, England
15 Win 15–0 Joe Murray MD 12 21 Sep 2013 Copper Box Arena, London, England Retained Commonwealth super-featherweight title
14 Win 14–0 Scott Harrison UD 10 20 Apr 2013 Wembley Arena, London, England Retained WBO European lightweight title
13 Win 13–0 Domenico Urbano TKO 8 (12), 2:10 14 Jul 2012 Boleyn Ground, London, England Won vacant WBO European lightweight title
12 Win 12–0 Paul Appleby RTD 10 (12), 3:00 30 Sep 2011 York Hall, London, England Retained Commonwealth super-featherweight title
11 Win 11–0 Jon Kays KO 10 (12), 1:05 19 Mar 2011 Robin Park Centre, Wigan, England Retained Commonwealth super-featherweight title
10 Win 10–0 Maxwell Awuku UD 12 23 Oct 2010 York Hall, London, England Won vacant Commonwealth super-featherweight title
9 Win 9–0 Sebastien Cornu PTS 6 24 Sep 2010 Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Ibrar Riyaz TKO 1 (6), 1:59 15 May 2010 Boleyn Ground, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Sid Razak TKO 4 (6), 2:02 13 Feb 2010 Wembley Arena, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Jon Baguley TKO 3 (6), 2:45 9 Oct 2009 York Hall, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Baz Carey TKO 3 (6), 2:03 22 May 2009 York Hall, London, England
4 Win 4–0 Shaun Walton TKO 1 (4), 2:12 30 Jan 2009 York Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Youssef Al Hamidi PTS 4 6 Dec 2008 ExCeL, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Johnny Greaves KO 4 (4), 1:04 14 Jun 2008 York Hall, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Daniel Thorpe KO 1 (4), 1:57 2 Feb 2008 ExCeL, London, England

References

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  1. ^ BBC News: Boxing brothers have a right to remember
  2. ^ Liam Walsh's professional boxing record
  3. ^ Sporting Life: Perfect 10 for Walsh
  4. ^ BBC Sport: Liam Walsh captures Commonwealth title
  5. ^ Eveningnews24: Liam Walsh is Commonwealth champion in perfect night for brothers
  6. ^ BBC Sport | Liam Walsh beats John Kays to retain commonwealth title
  7. ^ BBC Sport | Liam Walsh retains title despite Appleby knockdown
  8. ^ a b "Liam Walsh Dominates Andrey Klimov To Earn Pedraza IBF Shot". BoxingScene.com. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Walsh vs Hughes - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Ricky Burns 		Commonwealth
super-featherweight champion
23 October 2010 – May 2017
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Andy Townend
Vacant
Title last held by
Eduard Troyanovsky 		WBO European
lightweight champion
14 July 2012 – September 2013
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Stephen Ormond
New title WBO International
super-featherweight champion
21 September 2013 – March 2014
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Juan Manuel López
Preceded by British
super-featherweight champion
29 November 2014 – September 2016
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Martin Joseph Ward
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