Conah Walker to defend Midlands Area welterweight title to Jamie Stewart
Over recent years, there's been some great domestic battles at the lower levels in boxing, where the fledgling fighters are battling hard to defend their belts or to win title challenges to climb the to the higher echelons of the sport. This determination to stand out and make a name for theirselves has always brought out some of the best boxing matches ever witnessed, alongside pika kasino when talking about sports.
One of these matches is likely to be seen this weekend as defending champion Conah Walker (9-0-1, 2KOs) from Wolverhampton will battle it out for his belt against Staffordshire's Jamie Stewart (2-2-1) for the Midlands welterweight title. Expectations are high; both boxers strongly believe they will come out as champion, so it's set to be a superb clash.
The duo will headline BCB Promotions' show at the Hangar Events Venue when they finally meet and battle it out on Friday, October 1.
For Conah Walker, his confidence is high as an unbeaten champion and he believes his skills and experience will help him greatly to beat any title challengers. Having the home support advantage is also another driving force for the champ. With the fight planned to take place in his home city of Wolverhampton, Walker believes this is another added benefit over his travelling opponent, Jamie Stewart, who hails from Stoke City and will be in the away corner on fight night.
Walker, who won the Midlands prize back in May against Levi Ferguson, whom share the same managers, has to put up his Area title for the first time.
During the previous fight between Walker against Ferguson, a tough contest was also experienced, and the referee Darren Sargison had seen the Walker win with a slenderest of margins at 96-95. Ferguson had been knocked down in the sixth round, which saw him bravely beat the referee's count, and resulted in Walker walking away with an extra point in the official's opinion which saw him cling to the title by that time.
On the other side, Stewart had three fantastic results to kickstart his career, but has since been beaten twice from the away corner by Elliot Whale and George Davey, both over six-rounds, both opponents being 3-0.
His debut produced a standard four-round points win over a journeyman in September 209, followed by a surprise upset over unbeaten home fighter Michael Hennessey Jr., which remains his only loss still. Then, he was given the biggest fight of his career against 7-0 albanian superstar Florian Marku in December last year on the undercard of the year's biggest event involving headliners Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev. The 28-year-old, who calls himself 'The King', rose to the occasion and drew 76-76 over eight rounds with London-based southpaw, who just recently won IBF International welterweight title last weekend. Having boxed 28 rounds in little over a year, he has more than earned his shot at a title, despite not having his hand raised in any of his last three bouts.
Stewart is a dangerous man, although he hasn't stopped any opponents over his five fights, he beatn and matched two undefeated prospects, who each expected an easy night against him. He has never been stopped over 28 rounds, but he has been dropped, by a body shot from Marku, but he bravely battled on.
Walker is another unbeaten boxer, the fifth in a row for Stewart, but this is the first champion he has faced in his career and first time going 10-rounds. The 26-year-old talent has also earned a nickname "The Wolf" as a result of his spirit and doggedness, trained by Richard Ghent, working out of the RG Box Fit gym in Bilston.
Walker was a successful amateur boxer, graduating from Merridale Boxing Club winning 30 from 33 bouts, resulting in two national titles in the England Development Championships.
He has been enjoying a top-class run for this and his previous fight camp, having been in the training ring with former world champions Kell Brook and, lately, European welterweight king David Avanesyan, who also fights this weekend.
During his previous interview, Walker said: “Kell had been sharp, and it's just a battle with David, even in sparring. You have to be turned on with them all of the time. Now that I am a champion, I must use that.
“I felt the final scores were more pleasing (against Ferguson), but I will not take anything away from Levi. I have battled the best version of him, that is for sure.
“I know my opponent coming to have a spirited fight, he's ready and throws punches from unexpected angles, but with my boxing skills, I am likely to counter him in a better way.
“I have to give out the best version of myself, check his gaps, and punish him for any mistakes he makes. I have only watched him fight Marku, so I have to be smart and better!
"I'm glad to defend my belt against anyone, but I will be looking for a step up after this fight. By any chance I can stay away from injuries, I would like to have another fight by the end of the year.
“I would like to be in the top ten, which means I have to fight and defeat someone who is that highly ranked. Hopefully, I’ll have the opportunity to do that.”
The weigh-in between Walker and Stewart will also be at The Hangar on Thursday at 1:30pm.
For Walker, he will not only be defending his title but also proving to his hometown and huge fan base that he is ready to climb upwards onto the next level. A win over Stewart will also be a great milestone for the young boxer, who could do a better job than welterweight superstar Florian Marku did.
For Stewart, it is another challenging match, of which he is now well used to, but he has to throw all he has to convince the judges from the away corner. It's another unbeaten opponent in front of him, which will ensure he raises his game just like he has in the past.