George Liddard became the youngest-ever British and Commonwealth middleweight champion, as he stunned Kieron Conway with a masterful tenth-round stoppage win.
Conway and Liddard faced off at York Hall, Bethnal Green.
Northampton-based Conway (23-4-1, KO7) won the vacant Commonwealth crown in November last year with a split decision win against Ryan Kelly, and then added the vacant British title, stopping Gerome Warburton in four rounds in May.
‘Billericay Bomber’ Liddard (13-0, KO8) was involved in an eliminator for the British title in his last contest in May, dropping Aaron Sutton three times en route to a fifth-round stoppage win.
Liddard started with authority, with the opening round seeing him connect with some eye-catching work, but Conway remained patient, although his eye showed signs of damage as early as round two as Liddard kept getting the better of the exchanges.
The challenger was well on top, and Conway was having to take punches in order to get his own off, and by halfway, Conway was engaging more, only to be met with more of the same from Liddard, as he was dominating proceedings.
Conway had a decent eighth, but complained to his corner that his hand was damaged at the end of the frame, and halfway through the ninth, the champion was decked as his challenge started to unravel.
Conway couldn’t defend himself as his arm and hand troubles deepened, and the towel came in from his corner to save him from further punishment in the tenth.
Jimmy Sains vs Troy Coleman
Unbeaten middleweight prospect Jimmy Sains (11-0, KO10) took the vacant English and Commonwealth Silver titles, as he forced Troy Coleman (14-4-1, KO6) to retire after four rounds of battle in their meeting.
Sains was dominant, and was putting together some punishing punches, and Coleman and his corner had seen enough at the end of the fourth, with the Midlander saved for another day.
Chloe Watson vs Shannon Ryan
A grotesque eye injury from a clash of head’s curtailed the challenge of Chloe Watson (8-2, KO0) in her challenge for the vacant IBF Intercontinental super flyweight title against Shannon Ryan (10-1, KO1), with the contest called off after four rounds with Watson’s eye completely closed.
The bout went to a technical decision, where Ryan was the winner by 40-36 across the board.
Remaining undercard
In eight-round contests, Taylor Bevan (6-0, KO6) continued his perfect record, and the super middleweight scored a fifth-round stoppage against Slovakia’s Lukas Ferneza (6-4, KO3).
Middleweight hope Emmanuel Buttigieg (10-0, KO3) improved his unblemished record, overcoming a cut to triumph 79-73 against Malta’s Christian Schembri (27-13-1, KO11).
In six-rounders, Jermaine Dhliwayo (7-0, KO3) wiped out Mario Victorino Vera (8-10, KO3) with a body shot in the fourth round of their featherweight meeting, and bantamweight novice Tiah Mai Ayton (3-0, KO3) also won in the fourth round against Laura Belen Valdebenito (8-7-1, KO2).
The sole four-rounder came at super bantamweight, where Adam Maca (3-0, KO3) took a final-round stoppage win against Juan Alberto Batista (1-22, KO0) of Argentina.
