Middleweight George Liddard overcame the awkwardly persistent Tyler Denny to win a unanimous decision tonight at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Liddard (14-0, 8 KOs) headlined against the much more experienced Denny (21-4-3), a problematic southpaw with a run as European champion under his belt, defending his British and Commonwealth titles while also snapping the IBF inter-continental belt. Liddard dug deep to earn the decision from all three judges, who all scored the fight 116-112 in an entertaining card courtesy of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
The opening round was a good start for Liddard, hurting Denny with a right hand to the body. He consistently found the target with his right hand while not rushing his work. He started quick in the second round too, hitting Denny to the body, backing him up in clinical fashion. Liddard looked set for an easy night, landing a combination and a spiteful body with a minute left until the bell.
Denny would attempt to launch a significant attack but continued to walk into Liddard’s right hand in the third. However, he was much more competitive in the fourth, catching Liddard with a left hand clean on the jawline. Denny attempts to disrupt the rhythm of his opponent in round five worked to his advantage. The West Midlands man worked hard to pull Liddard into a dog fight, but a counter right hand in final 30 seconds turned the round away in Denny’s favor.
The pace slowed in round six as Denny clinched and scrapped his was through. The change in style of the fight was working to his advantage, but Liddard was still having success in another close round. Denny came out swinging to start round seven, but Liddard’s counter punching pulled him through the first minute. The pair traded body shots to equal success, Denny followed it with another good left hand to the chin.
Liddard got back behind his jab in the eighth, but again, Denny roared back with another decent left hand. Liddard took back control in the remainder of the round until Denny landed a loping left hand before the bell. Liddard landed a smart left-right combination in round nine, but Denny returned the favor, landing a wild hook. Denny continued to tie up the defending champion, walking him onto a good left hand in the closing minute. Liddard finished the period with a precise left-jab and straight right to the head, appearing to have regained his composure.
The pace dipped once more as Denny continued with his scrappy tactics, but Liddard landed a decent combination to the body at the halfway stage of round ten. Liddard took control of the rest of the round, working behind his left jab and straight right hand. But Denny would sneak in another left to the head before the bell.
Liddard landed consecutive straight right hands to the head to kickoff round eleven. The round set fire beginning with Liddard landing a left uppercut returned by a left from Denny. The two men traded, but the power was on the side of Liddard. Denny’s chin held up to a multitude of attacks and returned his own eye catching, trusty left hand. They traded again to close the round with Liddard coming out on top with a sharpe left-right combination.
Both men dug in throughout the twelfth and final round. Liddard took the initiative trying to walk down Denny in the first minute. His volume was suffocating Denny as the fight came to a close, who looked tired, missing wildly with a shot before the bell.
“He brought more than I expected,” Liddard told DAZN in a post-fight interview. “Listen, I’m grateful for that. I did the 12 rounds, I never been 12 rounds before. Neither had he, so we both learnt a lot tonight. This is a journey, man. I’m on a journey to the top, however that be I get there. Tonight we didn’t get the knockout, but that’s okay. I put on a show for the people, and you got to witness a war.”
The 23 year old from Essex became the youngest ever British champion when he defeated Kieron Conway in tenth round stoppage win last October, while also snatching the Commonwealth title at York Hall. The young Englishman has moved swiftly from prospect to contender over the last year and will move up the IBF rankings, where he is sitting in 15th place.