Walsh to claim Commonwealth super-featherweight title

Young prospect Liam Walsh fights Ghana’s Maxwell Awuku for the vacant Commonwealth super-featherweight at York Hall in only his eighth contest on Saturday.

The 24 year-old has been a professional for just over two years but has quickly notched up nine wins.

Seven of those have come inside the distance and impressively includes stoppages against durable men Sid Razak and Jon Baguley.

One of three fighting brothers, Liam who hails from Cromer in Norfolk is (like heavyweight Sam Sexton) trained by Graham Everett and represents the fast changing face of boxing.

Gone are the days when boxers were regularly fighting 20 or 30 times before they got a title tilt (the Commonwealth belt has been particularly accessible to relative novices of late - Ed.).

Interestingly though, Walsh will be weighing in at his lightest poundage having so far campaigned slightly above the 130lbs division but should still have too much for his rival.

And Liam should have no qualms about topping the bill and fighting in front of a live SKY TV audience having already tasted the professional big stage earlier this year, when he appeared on the Kevin Mitchell and Michael Katsidis bill at West Ham United’s football stadium.

Awuku may have only lost once in 21 outings but a look at his opponent’s records reveals he has been matched easy. His last two opponents boast tallies of 0-9-0 and 0-2-0 respectively.

Previous to those two, Maxwell competing in his 19th professional bout took on a debutant.

It takes nothing away from Walsh who has high aspirations but statistics like these demonstrate why the Commonwealth title is no longer the prize asset it once was in the days of men like Henry Copper, Alan Minter and Tony Sibson.

Walsh will be crowned the new champion in impressive fashion against a man who fights outside Ghana for only the second time.

Respected observers also consider Walsh to be a hot prospect so don’t be surprised if he is soon matched with the likes of recently crowned English champion Anthony Crolla or British king Gary Sykes.