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Liam Davies wins on featherweight debut in lacklustre fight against Kurt Walker
NOTTINGHAM, England - Liam Davies (17-1, 8 KOs) enjoyed a successful debut at featherweight after beating Kurt Walker (12-1, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena.
For Davies this was his first outing since being comprehensively beaten by Shabaz Masoud at super bantamweight what was one of the most clinical performances from a British boxer last year.
Davies threw the first significant shot with a low right hook which thumped with Walker’s waistline. While Davies had high output, Walker was being selective with his punches, and a straight right to the body landed to keep his opponent wary in the opening session.
Walker found himself backed up to the ropes in the second with Davies throwing combinations to the body, but his opponent did not show any signs of weakness.
The high activity from Davies continued in the third, but whenever he was getting past Walker’s defences, there was very little power in his punches. Walker was beginning to gain more confidence in the final minute of the round, opting for a left-right combination to trouble Davies who managed to avoid this tactic by small margins.
During a quiet round four, Leigh Wood’s fans were making themselves heard, singing Nottingham Forest’s anthem to the song Mull of Kintyre, the atmosphere was rapidly building ahead of the main event.
This did not help spur this contest into life however with Davies and Walker failing to gain a foothold to get the crowd’s attention in either rounds five and six.
There was hope of a more eventful second half, the seventh however struggled to produce any highlights despite a few body shots from either man.
Heading into round 10, Davies was the man in control, albeit because he was throwing the more eye-catching punches compared to Walker who struggled to produce any period of sustained pressure.
Walker’s supporters continued to give shouts of encouragement, calling him a “warrior” as the fight entered the twelfth and final round. Both men looked to try and snatch those vital few points on the scorecards as they traded for the first time in the fight with punches landing. Yet none of these shots were created an opening and the contest came to a close.
It was no shock to see Davies declared the winner with scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112.
While the fight was not a glamorous one to watch, this victory should give Davies confidence and hopefully in his next contest at 126lbs will see him look to capture the attention of British fight fans.
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