| Liam Walsh | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Liam Walsh |
| Rated at | Super featherweight |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Born | 18 May 1986 Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, UK |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 12 |
| Wins | 12 |
| Wins by KO | 9 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Draws | 0 |
Liam Walsh (born 18 May 1986) is an English professional left-handed boxer fighting in the super featherweight division. He is the current holder of the Commonwealth title at the weight and is one of three brothers, all of whom are professional boxers.
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 medallist Amir Khan at London's Excel Arena, all three brothers scored winning debuts. Liam Walsh faced journeyman Daniel Thorpe and made a quick start with a first round win. Speaking of his debut victory Walsh said "I knocked him down but he got back up. I caught him with a good right hand and I don't think he fancied the job after that."[1] Walsh followed up the victory with further wins in 2008 over journeymen Johnny Greaves and Youssef Al Hamidi. In 2009 Walsh defeated Shaun Walton, Baz Carey and Jon Baguley. In 2010 Walsh expanded his record to 9 wins against no defeats with victories over Sid Razak, Ibrar Riyaz and the Frenchman Sebastien Cornu.[2]
On 23 October 2010 Walsh headlined a bill for the first time at the York Hall in Bethnal Green. The occasion was a challenge for the Commonwealth super featherweight title recently vacated by Scotsman Ricky Burns.[3] Walsh defeated his co-challenger for the belt, the Ghanaian Maxwell Awuku who had had a record of 20 wins and one defeat before that fight, over the full 12 rounds in a grueling contest.[4] Prior to the victory, brothers Michael and Ryan had also scored wins on the bill defeating Ian Bailey and James Ancliff respectively.[5] On 20 March 2010 Walsh made his first successful defence of the title, traveling to Wigan to beat local man John Kays with a stoppage in the 9th round.[6] The second defence of his title came on 30 September 2011 with Walsh meeting former British champion Paul Appleby in a thrilling fight at the York Hall. Despite winning in the tenth round Walsh had been knocked down and hurt in the seventh round and said afterwards that it was "definitely the hardest fight I've been in."[7]