Gervonta Davis Vs Liam Walsh: Breaking It Down By the Numbers!
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By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart
The IBF super featherweight show is in town as Floyd Mayweather, JR. has flown across the ocean with his highly-regarded prospect, Gervonta Davis,¬ 17-0,16 KOs to put him in a ring with the unbeaten name that we know all about but the States might soon be starving to hear about; Liam Walsh, 21-0, 14 KO’s. D-Day is the 20th May 2017.
Walsh knows that, whilst Davis is no mug and is certainly a class act, Walsh wants one super fight on British soil. He will not manage that without getting past Davis – and that super fight in the UK is a showdown with fellow Manchester fighter, WBO champion, Terry Flanagan, 33-0, 13 KO’s.
Flanagan and WBC title holder, Jorge Linares, 42-3, 27 KO’s, are the 2 fighters that Walsh marks out as being the best in his division but knows that Flanagan would generate enough cash in this money hungry business to ensure he was set up well for his future.
Facing a sold-out show in London in May – we seem to be doing a few of them recently – Walsh does have a massive task on his hands as Davis is also unbeaten. He is also a pretty amazing knockout ratio and has managed that feat with 16 out of his 17 opponents.
In a recent interview, Walsh was though, quite dismissive of the power Davis has, comparing him – not favorably – to Chris Eubank, JR. suggesting that the knock out artists needs a flurry of punches and not one clean one to knock people down he thinks he has the resilience and skills to send Davis back to the USA with his tail between his legs.
The story of how Liam Walsh got here takes many twists and turns and includes one nearly got a world title attempt story. Like many British boxers these days, Liam is one of his family in boxing. He boasts 3 of his brothers, Ryan (his twin) and Michael – his elder brother who also box. His debut in 2008 was remarkable because his brothers also made their debuts on the same bill. All 3 posted wins at London’s Excel Arena, alongside Amir Khan, that night.
It only took 10 fights and Ricky Burns vacating the Commonwealth title, before Walsh got his first belt in 2010 when Maxwell Awulu of Ghana was beaten over 12 rounds. On the same bill? You guessed it – his brothers – both of whom won their fights. It seemed like brotherly love was also a lucky omen! Walsh went on to defend the belt twice before that self-same Ricky Burns was named, in 2012 as his next opponent and this time for the WBO lightweight belt. Unfortunately, Walsh was forced to withdraw after sustaining injuries in a car crash and his first shot slipped away.
Instead he went on to take the WBO European belt in 2012 by beating Domenico Urbano. It began a 5-year odyssey of collecting belts and waiting your turn. First, he defended his WBO European belt against Scott Harrison, then took the WBO international and Commonwealth super featherweight belts against Joe Murray – both in 2013. In 2014, he defended both against Gary Sykes and then defended them again in 2015, against Joe Murray – once more! Also in 2015, he took the WBO intercontinental title against Isaias Santos Sampaion by knocking him out. 2016 saw him defend his British title against Troy James before a keep busy fight with Andrey Klimov in October and now the world title tilt that will is booked in and ready to rumble.
Having been slated for a world title 5 years ago it has taken that time for an honest an undefeated fighter to swing round into contention. He has been far from idle during that time and you must believe, if you are a British boxing fan, that the experiences he has had will make this world title attempt a far more likely win for the man from Cromer.
The May 20th fight shall, of course, be watched over with interest by Terry Flanagan, of that there is no doubt. British boxing is on such a high now that fights between British boxers are commanding huge money and showcasing very decent world level talent.
Of course, on the bill that night, fighting for the British featherweight title against Marco McCullough is twin Ryan Walsh, 21-2-1, 10 KO’s, but no big brother Michael Walsh, 11-0, 11 KO’s, who last fought in 2015. Michael will be hoping though, to see a double title win for his twin siblings.
There is certainly one thing going in Liam Walsh’s favor – he will win any battle built around self-belief. Whether he fights at light weight, super featherweight or super lightweight, Davis believes he shall win. It’s an interesting compliment to the confidence that comes from Gervonta Davis’ promoter, Floyd Mayweather, JR. In the UK, we don’t really like big brash promoters or self-promoting egoists. Mayweather, JR. therefore, fits the villain bill well and this is one contest where we enjoy the hype and razzmatazz but cannot wait till someone shoves a win down those shiny teeth; the questions is, is Liam Walsh the man to manage it?
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