Liam Walsh (boxer)

Liam Walsh
Walsh in 2015
Personal information
Nickname
Destiny
Born (1986-05-18) 18 May 1986
Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England
Height5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (171 cm)
Weight
Boxing career
Reach66 in (168 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights24
Wins23
Win by KO15
Losses1

Liam Walsh (born 18 May 1986) is an English former professional boxer. He challenged for the IBF super-featherweight title in 2017. Walsh is a former Commonwealth and British super-featherweight champion and had two separate reigns as WBO European lightweight title holder.

Professional career

Walsh made his professional boxing debut on 2 February 2008 alongside his twin brother, Ryan and their elder brother, Michael. Boxing on the same bill as Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan at London's Excel Arena, all three brothers scored winning debuts.[1]

On 23 October 2010, he headlined a bill for the first time at York Hall in Bethnal Green with the vacant Commonwealth super-featherweight title at stake.[2] Walsh defeated his co-challenger for the belt, Maxwell Awuku, by unanimous decision.[3][4]

He made his first defence of the title on 20 March 2010, scoring a ninth round technical knockout win over John Kays at Robin Park Centre in Wigan.[5]

The second defence of his title came on 30 September 2011, with Walsh meeting former British champion Paul Appleby at York Hall. Despite winning when his opponent retired at the end of the 10th round, Walsh had been knocked down in the seventh round and said afterwards that it was "definitely the hardest fight I've been in."[6]

Moving up a weight division, he won the vacant WBO European lightweight title by stopping Domenico Urbano in the eighth round at the Boleyn Ground in London on 14 July 2012.[7]

Walsh successfully defended the title with a unanimous decision win over Scott Harrison at Wembley Arena on 20 April 2013.[8]

He was scheduled to get his first shot at a world title by challenging WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns on 15 December 2012, but had to withdraw from the fight due to injuries from being involved in a car crash.[9][10]

Walsh won the British super-featherweight title against Gary Sykes on 29 November 2024. He dropped Sykes in the first round and went on to dominate the fight and won a unanimous decision with judges scores of 119–108, 118–111 and 118–109.[11][12]

He defended his British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles on 28 February 2015 against Joe Murray at The O2 Arena in London, winning by fifth round technical knockout,[13] and again on 30 April 2026 with an eighth round stoppage of Troy James at the Copper Box Arena in London.[14]

On 8 October 2016, Walsh fought undefeated Russian Andrey Kimov as a final IBF eliminator for their version of the super featherweight title. Walsh switched his stance effortlessly throughout the fight and was moving well. In a well-rounded, dominant win, Walsh managed to get the nod via unanimous decision.[15]

In his next fight, Walsh challenged Gervonta Davis for his IBF super-featherweight title. Davis started off with a sharp jab and controlled most of the action in the opening round. The second round was closer, but Davis still had the edge. In the third round, Davis managed to catch Walsh with a big shot, which wobbled the latter, opening the way for Davis so finish the fight with a flurry of big shots. Walsh got dropped, and despite beating the count, was not able to recover and another barrage of shots from Davis forced the referee to stop the fight.[16][17]

On 9 November 2019, Walsh became a two-time WBO European lightweight champion when he defeated Maxi Hughes by unanimous decision to win the vacant title at York Hall.[18][19]

He was scheduled to face Paul Hyland Jr for the vacant British lightweight title at the University of Bolton Stadium on 19 March 2021, but withdrew after failing to recover from COVID-19 in time.[20][21]

Professional boxing record

24 fights 23 wins 1 loss
By knockout 15 1
By decision 8 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
24 Win 23–1 Maxi Hughes UD 10 9 Nov 2019 York Hall, London, England Won vacant WBO European lightweight title
23 Win 22–1 Reynaldo Cajina KO 3 (8), 1:18 11 May 2019 Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England
22 Loss 21–1 Gervonta Davis TKO 3 (12), 2:11 20 May 2017 Copper Box Arena, London, England For IBF super-featherweight title
21 Win 21–0 Andrey Klimov UD 12 8 Oct 2016 Harrow Leisure Centre, London, England
20 Win 20–0 Troy James TKO 8 (12), 1:20 30 Apr 2016 Copper Box Arena, London, England Retained British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles
19 Win 19–0 Isaias Santos Sampaio KO 6 (12), 1:26 11 Jul 2015 Manchester Velodrome, Manchester, England Won WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
18 Win 18–0 Joe Murray TKO 5 (12), 1:12 28 Feb 2015 The O2 Arena, London, England Retained British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles
17 Win 17–0 Gary Sykes UD 12 29 Nov 2014 ExCeL, London, England Retained Commonwealth super featherweight title;
Won British super-featherweight title
16 Win 16–0 Kevin Hooper KO 4 (10), 3:05 26 Jul 2014 Phones 4u Arena, Manchester, England
15 Win 15–0 Joe Murray MD 12 21 Sep 2013 Copper Box Arena, London, England Retained Commonwealth super-featherweight title
14 Win 14–0 Scott Harrison UD 10 20 Apr 2013 Wembley Arena, London, England Retained WBO European lightweight title
13 Win 13–0 Domenico Urbano TKO 8 (12), 2:10 14 Jul 2012 Boleyn Ground, London, England Won vacant WBO European lightweight title
12 Win 12–0 Paul Appleby RTD 10 (12), 3:00 30 Sep 2011 York Hall, London, England Retained Commonwealth super-featherweight title
11 Win 11–0 Jon Kays KO 10 (12), 1:05 19 Mar 2011 Robin Park Centre, Wigan, England Retained Commonwealth super-featherweight title
10 Win 10–0 Maxwell Awuku UD 12 23 Oct 2010 York Hall, London, England Won vacant Commonwealth super-featherweight title
9 Win 9–0 Sebastien Cornu PTS 6 24 Sep 2010 Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Ibrar Riyaz TKO 1 (6), 1:59 15 May 2010 Boleyn Ground, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Sid Razak TKO 4 (6), 2:02 13 Feb 2010 Wembley Arena, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Jon Baguley TKO 3 (6), 2:45 9 Oct 2009 York Hall, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Baz Carey TKO 3 (6), 2:03 22 May 2009 York Hall, London, England
4 Win 4–0 Shaun Walton TKO 1 (4), 2:12 30 Jan 2009 York Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Youssef Al Hamidi PTS 4 6 Dec 2008 ExCeL, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Johnny Greaves KO 4 (4), 1:04 14 Jun 2008 York Hall, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Daniel Thorpe KO 1 (4), 1:57 2 Feb 2008 ExCeL, London, England

References

  1. ^ "Boxing brothers complete debut hat-trick". North Norfolk News. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  2. ^ Sporting Life: Perfect 10 for Walsh
  3. ^ BBC Sport: Liam Walsh captures Commonwealth title
  4. ^ Eveningnews24: Liam Walsh is Commonwealth champion in perfect night for brothers
  5. ^ BBC Sport | Liam Walsh beats John Kays to retain commonwealth title
  6. ^ BBC Sport | Liam Walsh retains title despite Appleby knockdown
  7. ^ "Liam Walsh admits he must do better after winning boxing's WBO European lightweight title". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  8. ^ "Liam Walsh proved too strong for veteran Scott Harrison". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  9. ^ "Liam Walsh out of Ricky Burns title fight after car crash". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  10. ^ "Liam Walsh out of WBO title fight with Ricky Burns after car accident". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Liam Walsh unifies British and Commonwealth belts". badlefthook.com. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  12. ^ "Sykes shows true heart in title defeat". Dewsbury Reporter. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  13. ^ "Joe Murray's British title hopes ended by Liam Walsh". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  14. ^ "Liam Walsh Retains British and Commonwealth Titles With TKO". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  15. ^ "Liam Walsh Dominates Andrey Klimov To Earn Pedraza IBF Shot". BoxingScene.com. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Boxing results: Gervonta Davis takes out Liam Walsh". Boxing News Online. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  17. ^ "Gervonta Davis stops Liam Walsh with 3rd-round TKO to remain unbeaten". USA Today. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  18. ^ "World stage beckons again as Liam Walsh beats Maxi Hughes". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  19. ^ "Maxi Hughes turns in valiant performance as he misses out in title contest with Liam Walsh". Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  20. ^ "Walsh out of British title bid as he recovers from Covid-19". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  21. ^ "Maxi Hughes Steps In For Liam Walsh To Face Paul Hyland Jnr March 19". 3kingsboxing.com. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
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