English light-heavyweight champion Liam Conroy is set to defend title to challenger Miles Shinkwin on March 31
Barrow’s Liam Conroy will take on Bushey’s Miles Shinkwin on Easter Saturday, as he looks to keep hold of the national crown and further his chances of landing a shot at the British belt.
The Barrow boxer won the English championship with a second-round stoppage win against defending champion Joel McIntyre at London’s famous York Hall in Bethnal Green.
Conroy’s first defence of the national title three months later in Birmingham saw him defeat challenger Chris Hobbs with a ninth-round TKO.
Following successive fights on the road in his last two outings, the 25-year-old defending champion is looking forward to getting back to his native North West, where the Preston Guild Hall has proven a happy hunting ground for him in the past.
It was at the Guild Hall where the Barrow ABC product lifted his first accolade in boxing by beating Krzysztof Golec for the British Challenge belt in February 2016.
Four months later, Conroy returned to the iconic venue to dispatch Hungarian Ferenc Albert in four rounds to land the WBC World Youth Silver crown.
Unbeaten in his last nine fights with five stoppages, Conroy is in a rich vein of form.
2017 was an exceptional year for the 25-year-old with four stoppage wins and two new titles in the bag – Northern Area and English titles – but he can expect a tough examination against British title contender Miles Shinkwin, who has fought some of the UK’s top light-heavyweights.
The 29-year-old, from Watford, has a pro record of 14 wins and three defeats from 17 outings and is ranked in the top-20 in the UK light-heavyweights.
Former Southern Area champion Shinkwin is no stranger to the big occasion, having fought live on Sky Sports twice. He lost to then-unbeaten Hosea Burton in a British light-heavyweight championship contest two years ago.
He has also tackled Conroy’s English title predecessor McIntyre twice – with one win apiece – and his most recent contest saw him lose to highly-touted Jake Ball for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title in December.
The impending fight on Easter Saturday should make for a cracking contest between two closely-matched competitiors in an iconic locale.
Undercard
Matthew Hatton's talented students Nathan Wheatley (7-0), 29 from Warrington, and Alex Rutter (10-0), 24 from Middleton, both have their first fight of the year on the Johnny Roye-promoted card.
Wheatley gets back to business following a nine-month hiatus due to injury, his forthcoming fight will mark a year since his last bout. "The Wire" suffered from a long-term shoulder injury that eventually forced him to withdraw from a schedule Central Area shot last May when under Kieran Farrell's management.
Since teaming up with world title challenger Matthew Hatton, the former Bridgefoot ABC student has dropped down a weight class to 154lbs.
Prospect Watch with Nathan Wheatley
His teammate Alex Rutter won the Central Area super-featherweight title in his last fight back in September 2016. Along layoff saw "Big Al" relinquish his title – Maxi Hughes is now the titleholder – and contemplate quitting boxing altogether but has found his love for the sport again since joining Hatton's stable.
For tickets to the event, contact Nathan ‘The Wire’ Wheatley on 07943 422 725
To follow Nathan on Twitter, click here @0401_nathan
Nathan would like to thank his sponsors Eat Clean Cuisine and Agent Tim Rickson