Conway feels 'disrespect' before title defence

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6 hours ago

Kieron Conway has said he will be “driven” by the “disrespect” he feels has been shown by undefeated George Liddard when he defends his British and Commonwealth middleweight titles for the first time on Friday.

The pair will meet at York Hall in Bethnal Green, with the belts Conway won by stopping Gerome Warburton in May on the line.

The 29-year-old told BBC Radio Northampton: “George is a good fighter. I’m not going to take that away from him. He’s young and hungry but perhaps not enough.

“All of the quotes and typical sayings he’s coming out with, that he’s probably read in a book, or his gym friends have been telling him, it’s not enough. You can repeat these quotes to yourself as many times as you want, but when these hands land, it doesn’t matter.”

The win over Warburton, who was pulled out in the fourth round when his corner threw in the towel, was the 23rd of Conway’s career, to go with three defeats – two of them in the USA – and a draw with Ted Cheeseman when he first fought for a British title in 2019.

By contrast, 23-year-old Liddard, from Essex, has won all 12 bouts as a professional, stopping Aaron Sutton in five rounds in his most recent contest.

Beyond The Ring: Kieron Conway (BBC Radio Northampton)

Conway first stepped into a ring at the age of 10 and persisted with the sport despite his father – a boxing trainer – telling him he was not “tough enough”.

He said: “Back when I was a kid, that was probably the case. I was not big, I was skinny, I didn’t really have much confidence or character.”

Now, though, as a father himself, Conway uses his family as motivation for his fights.

“Every time my opponent says something slightly disrespectful, I see it as an insult to my daughter. That’s what drives me. He’s genuinely disrespecting and insulting my family by telling me he’s going to beat me. And I’m just not having it.

“It’s not fake, I’ve not read that in a book, I’ve not watched a Youtube video and thought about that, it’s genuine, it’s how I see what he’s doing.”

He continued: “Becoming a parent changes pretty much every outlook I had on life. Everything is now for her and my future family. Everything becomes a lot more powerful, your energy in training, it feels like someone turned the volume knob up.

“Your discipline becomes unmatched, there’s someone else relying on you now, the result isn’t about you from that moment. When you don’t want to do it, you do it – and you do it with double the effort you ever have before.”

The British middleweight title has been held by a number of legendary names including Randolph Turpin, Terry Downes, Alan Minter and Herol Graham.

But it changed hands several times in recent years before Conway won it, in a hugely impressive performance.

Of his feelings prior to that bout, he said: “It was pure confidence, a confidence I’d never felt before. I knew I was about to show people what I was capable of.”

Conway has been described by BBC boxing broadcaster and analyst Steve Bunce as a “throwback” fighter.

And now he is a champion, he has no intention of letting Liddard take that away from him.

“The things he’s saying, I see as a personal attack. He’s telling me he’s going to knock me out and take away my whole career, my future in boxing, the way I’m trying to make a living for my family,” Conway added.

“He thinks he’s coming to stop that and I see that as an attack on them and I’m going to put a display on that will show exactly that.”

Kieron Conway was speaking to BBC Radio Northampton’s Jake Sharpe