Conway feels ‘disrespect’ before title defence

Kieron Conway said he will be “driven” by the “disrespect” he believes undefeated George Liddard showed 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 Jerome Warburton in May on the line.

Advertising

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 maybe that's not enough.”

“All the quotes and typical sayings that he says that he probably read in a book or that his friends at the gym told him, it’s not enough. You can repeat these quotes to yourself as many times as you want, but when those hands land, it doesn't matter.”

The win over Warburton, who crashed out in the fourth round when his corner threw in the towel, was the 23rd of Conway's career, following three defeats (two of them in the US) and a draw with Ted Cheeseman when he first challenged for the British title in 2019.

Advertising

In contrast, Liddard, 23, from Essex, has won all 12 of his fights as a professional, stopping Aaron Sutton in five rounds in his last fight.

Kieron Conway showed off his belts at Sixfields Stadium in Northampton Town in August. [Getty Images]

Conway first entered the ring at the age of 10 and continued to play the sport despite his father, a boxing coach, telling him he was “not tough enough.”

He said: “When I was a kid it probably was. I wasn’t big, I was skinny, I didn’t have much confidence or character.”

Advertising

However, now as a father, 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. This is what drives me. He is genuinely disrespectful and insulting to my family, telling me he is going to beat me.

“It’s not fake, I didn’t read about it in a book, watch a YouTube video or think about it, it’s sincere, that’s how I see what he does.”

Advertising

He continued: “Becoming a parent changes almost my entire outlook on life. Now everything is meant for her and my future family. Everything becomes much more powerful, your energy in your workouts, it feels like someone turned up the volume.

“Your discipline becomes unsurpassed, now someone else is relying on you, from now on the result does not depend on you. When you don't want to do it, you do it – and do it with twice the effort you've ever made.”

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

Advertising

But it changed hands several times over the years before Conway won it in an extremely impressive performance.

About his feelings before this fight, he said: “It was pure confidence, confidence that I have never felt before. I knew I was going to show people what I could do.”

Broadcaster and BBC boxing analyst Steve Bunce described Conway as a “throwback” fighter.

And now he's the champion, and he's not going to let Liddard take that away from him.

Advertising

“I take what he says as a personal attack. He's telling me he's going to knock me out and take away my entire career, my future in boxing, how I'm trying to make a living for my family,” Conway added.

“He thinks he's coming to stop it, and I see this as an attack on them, and I'm going to put up a display that will show just that.”

Kieron Conway spoke to BBC Radio Northampton's Jake Sharp.

More boxing from the BBC

Leave a Comment