{"id":480862,"date":"2026-03-17T19:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/480862\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T19:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:26:08","slug":"george-liddard-driven-by-doubters-ahead-of-tyler-denny-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/480862\/","title":{"rendered":"George Liddard driven by doubters ahead of Tyler Denny defence"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I chatted with newly crowned British and Commonwealth champion George Liddard recently, I read out what the Racing Post had to say before previewing his last outing.<\/p>\n

It was a fight considered 50\/50 against Kieron Conway in October. Conway\u2019s experience, they said, \u201cis something that should get him over the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLiddard will be in uncharted waters if the fight goes far.\u201d \u201cLiddard\u2019s explosive style may get the fans on their feet early on, but this may be a step too far at this stage of his career.\u201d Liddard\u2019s response? \u201cHow d\u2019ya like me now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Liddard put on a career-best display, stopping Conway in ten rounds<\/a> and proving he has the engine to come on strong in the championship rounds. It was not something that came as a surprise to the Billericay man.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people thought it was going to be a step too far. But I knew what I was capable of. I showed that I am not just at the level, I am levels above that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old believes what worked in his favour was his unknown ceiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Conway completely underestimated me. He had a few things to say in the build-up. I sometimes like to listen to them now, obviously knowing what I know and doing what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

When speaking with Liddard, it is hard not to notice a cheeky personality who is always game for a laugh. But as you dig deeper with questions, it becomes clear there is a distinctly driven individual who enjoys nothing more than proving people wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready to go on to big things this year. The doubters motivate me and push me to go further than I ever have. 100 per cent the 12-round distance suits me. I could fight 15 rounds, 20 rounds if I needed to. Twelve rounds is not a problem come fight night.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people have doubted my engine, but in fights where I did ten rounds, like against Assasi, where maybe I faded towards the end, but it was only my 10th or 11th fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a few fights on now, and every camp I\u2019m getting fitter and fitter. Although I\u2019m not sure if it was even a fitness thing, potentially a mental thing. But every time I get in the ring now, I know I\u2019m willing and able to do more than 12.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liddard is excited about what 2026 will bring. His first outing of the year is a British and Commonwealth title defence against the experienced Tyler Denny this Saturday at the Copper Box Arena.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDenny is stiff opposition, he is a former European champion so I am certainly not underestimating him. But I am faster, stronger, tougher, younger, hungrier and will do anything that it takes to win. I\u2019m looking forward to getting the job done in devastating fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of the rest of the year, Liddard wants to move quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve made it clear I want to win a European title this year, but anyone can get it. I\u2019m not shying away from anything. I\u2019ll fight anyone. My team know that, so I leave it up to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow Essex boxer Conor Benn has recently been boxing at middleweight, and while Liddard would happily take the riches such a fight would bring, he considers it unrealistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Conor have gone back and forth for a laugh. He said he won\u2019t talk to me because I\u2019m not ranked in the top 10. He\u2019s going to go back and handle business at welterweight, so that isn\u2019t going to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I did say to him I need a big-money fight, so I might have to start calling you out soon. We only have a laugh though. We\u2019re in the same gym and he\u2019s guided me at times and given me a lot of advice around big fights. He\u2019s been around the gym a lot longer than I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liddard\u2019s final message is one for the fans. He feels he let them down last time, though certainly not in terms of performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last fight at York Hall, I had to let a lot of people down. Through no fault of anyone\u2019s, I appreciate Matchroom for giving me the opportunity to fight for the British and Commonwealth titles and to do it somewhere iconic. But I had to be so selective with who I gave tickets to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time I am headlining at the Copper Box and I am just so excited. I am looking forward to putting on a show in front of more supporters than ever. The Liddard army will be coming in force on March 21st. We\u2019re growing stronger every fight, and I can\u2019t wait for a big turnout.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I chatted with newly crowned British and Commonwealth champion George Liddard recently, I read out what the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-480862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}