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Irish Daily Mirror
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish star backed to bounce back as ex-world champ tells of being 'rock bottom'
Kurt Walker is backing himself to bounce back from his first career defeat after losing to former IBO world super bantamweight champion Liam Davies. The Lisburn man gave it his all and produced a performance to be proud of as he went 12 rounds for the first time in Nottingham, losing via unanimous decision. 'Experience let me down," said Walker afterwards as he admitted: "I learned a lot." 'The start wasn't working. I was able to change, not many people can do that, so I've done my first 12 rounds. Maybe pacing it wrong at the start and just doing the wrong things at the wrong time just let me down, I think." The Tokyo Olympian grew into the contest after Davies put him under pressure early on and showed his quality amateur pedigree as he ducked and dived and landed punches on the counter. The three judges scored the bout 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112, the first and last of which looked tough on Walker, who moves to 12-1 following the bout, while Davies is now 17-1, having won the IBF International featherweight title with the victory. '12 rounds is hard. He was good, he was simple, but good with them long arms," added Walker. "I thought I'd be able to deal with it on the boxing side, but he's done very well. "He was far better than his last defeat, because he didn't fall for the same mistakes, but it's a fight I learned from." Walker's manager Jamie Conlan echoed the words of his fighter, saying: "We didn't envision it at the start, that Kurt Walker was going to press Liam Davies back and have the more success, and he did. When he was pressing the action, he was the one having success. "At distance, Davies' reach and his punch output was winning him the exchanges. It's the first 12-rounder, first time being in the away corner. A lot of firsts tonight and his first loss as a professional, but one that he can really build on and not be disgraced about. "It's not the end of the world at all, definitely not. He took a big opportunity here, it didn't work out tonight, but hopefully in the long term, it's more beneficial to him than what another routine points win would have been at home. He sort of showed what he's all about." An emotional Davies also paid tribute to the 30-year-old as he reflected on what had been a tough period for him after suffering his first defeat to Shabaz Masoud last November. "I went from on top of the world last year to rock bottom," said the Englishman, who moved up to featherweight for the bout. "I had hard times and I had to cry to my wife, she knows what I've been through and I'm proud of myself for showing up and showing out, keeping it all bottled inside to dig in tonight and that's why I'm going to be a world champion again." He added on his opponent: "Very impressed with Kurt Walker, didn't expect as tough a fight as I got but I've got to give full credit to him. "He should be proud of himself and I've been there, I had my first loss and he can come back. "We're all humans, we have to take losses, not just in boxing, in sport, in general life and you have to dig in and find a way through it, you have to keep going till you see light at the end of the tunnel and that's what I've done these last six months. "I ain't spoke on it much, I kept it in and I've done myself proud tonight. It's not the best performance but I'm proud of myself."
Irish Daily Mirror
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Anthony Cacace beats Leigh Wood as Englishman's corner throws in towel
Anthony Cacace retained his IBO super-featherweight world title in style on Saturday night as he stopped Leigh Wood in Nottingham. For the third fight in a row the Belfast man defeated a two-time world champion as he recorded the ninth stoppage victory of his career to take his record to 24-1. What had been predicted to be a fight of the year contender perhaps didn't live up to the expectations in the early rounds, but an explosive eighth round saw Wood's corner throw in the towel. The referee began a count earlier in the round after Wood had bounced off the ropes following a huge shot from Cacace and the hometown fighter was in trouble from that moment on. Moments later, Cacace began to unload with uppercuts, but it was a left to the body that sent Wood backwards before 'The Apache' immediately followed up with a left hook. Wood began to run around and as he got towards his corner, his trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel as the huge Nottingham Forest fan suffered the fourth loss of his career from 32 bouts. Cacace came into the fight aiming to follow up an incredible 2024 after victories over Joe Cordina to win the IBF world title and Josh Warrington on the Daniel Dubois v Anthony Joshua card at Wembley, while it was Wood's first fight since stopping Warrington in October 2023. The Andersonstown man vacated the IBF belt to take the fight against Wood as it was more lucrative in terms of money, but he will now be in line for further world titles. Meanwhile, Kurt Walker suffered the first defeat of his professional career earlier on the card as he lost to former IBO super bantamweight world champion Liam Davies. The Lisburn man gave it his all and produced a performance to be proud of as he went 12 rounds for the first time, losing via unanimous decision. The Tokyo Olympian grew into the contest after Davies put him under pressure early on and showed his quality amateur pedigree as he ducked and dived and landed punches on the counter. The three judges scored the bout 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112, the first and last of which looked tough on Walker, who moves to 12-1 following the bout, while Davies is now 17-1, having won the IBF International featherweight title by beating Walker. Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.
The Irish Sun
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Liam Davies vs Kurt Walker: Start time, TV channel, live stream, undercard for huge Nottingham fight night
LIAM DAVIES is set to face Kurt Walker in THIS WEEKEND'S co-main event in Nottingham. 1 Liam Davies and Kurt Walker ahead of their fight to be mandatory challenger for the IBF featherweight title After a tough split decision loss to Shabaz Masoud, which saw Davies lose the IBO Super-bantamweight title, he's now made the decision to move up a weight class. Before his last fight, the 29-year-old had won his last three fights by TKO. He'll be hoping to rediscover that form at featherweight. Davies takes a tough test in 12-0 fighter Kurt Walker for the vacant IBF International featherweight belt. boxing nezws the sun Walker, 30, is coming off a majority decision victory against Leon Woodstock just two months ago in March. In the main event, we see Leigh Wood return from his 18-month hiatus to take on Anthony Cacace. Wood will make his long-awaited return to the ring in front of a hometown Nottingham crowd, after injury setbacks had stalled his career. He fights Anthony 'The Apache' Cacace who will defend his IBO Super-featherweight title for the fourth time. Most read in Sport The 36-year-old had impressive victories against Joe Cordina and and will enter the fight as the heavy favourite. SunSport brings you everything you need to know ahead of the big fight night in Nottingham. When is Liam Davies vs Kurt Walker? Liam Davies vs Kurt Walker for the vacant IBF International featherweight title takes place on Saturday, May 10. The card is being held at the Nottingham Arena. The show will start at 7pm BST. Ring walks for the co-main event is expected to take place at 9.15pm BST, depending on the outcome of the undercard. Is Liam Davies vs Kurt Walker on TV and can I live stream it? The event will be shown live on DAZN That means it is available to those with the TV channel as part of their subscription package. Davies vs Walker can also be live streamed on the DAZN website or via their downloadable app. An annual subscription costs £119.99 (or £14.99 monthly). A flexible pass - which can be cancelled whenever - costs £24.99 per month. Alternatively, SunSport will live blog every fight on the card as it happens. Full fight card Liam Davies vs Kurt Walker - featherweight Ezra Taylor vs Troy Jones - light heavyweight Owen Cooper vs Chris Congo - welterweight Sam Noakes vs Patrik Balaz - super lightweight Lewis Williams vs Viktar Chvarkou - heavyweight Huey Malone vs Jakub Laskowski - super lightweight Charlie Senior vs Cesar Paredes - featherweight Nico Leivars vs Darwing Martinez - featherweight Joe Copper vs Dmitri Protkunas - middleweight Joe Tyers vs Mario Portillo - lightweight Harris Akbar vs Octavian Gratii - super welterweight
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tearful boxer Ben Whittaker reveals he's 'lost friends' and 'couldn't enjoy' incredible family news after cocky antics massively backfired
An emotional Ben Whittaker broke down in tears as he explained how he 'lost friends' over his cocky antics inside the boxing ring. Whittaker claimed victory in his highly-anticipated rematch against Liam Cameron on Sunday and retained the IBF International light-heavyweight title in the process. It was a pivotal moment in the Wolverhampton star's boxing career after questions were asked about his credentials following a controversial draw in their first fight. Prior to his win on Sunday, discourse about Whittaker had often centred around his wild antics inside the boxing ring - with the Brit known for his showboating. Speaking after his victory over Cameron, he revealed that the antics had come at a cost and that he 'lost friends' who passed judgement on his displays. At his post-fight press conference, an emotional Whittaker said: 'Because of what happened on the internet, I couldn't enjoy things. Like my brother having two daughters... I couldn't really enjoy it too much. 'I couldn't really enjoy it too much because of what I was going through online.' An emotional Ben Whittaker speaks to the media after his stoppage win over Liam Cameron in their rematch. — Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) April 20, 2025 Ben Whittaker broke down in tears as he explained how he 'lost friends' over his cocky antics 'It didn't really bother me but even close friends, people I class family, left me. They had a lot to say about me. But it was a great time to go back to the old Ben Whittaker. 'Before the Olympics, I trained hard, locked in and I dedicated to the sport'. Whittaker detailed how his mindset returned to that which he had when he was still up and coming within the sport and credited his victory with that mental shift. However, Whittaker still managed to split opinion following his win over Cameron after he ran over to his rival's coaches and taunted them as he celebrated. He was later forced to deny spitting on Cameron's cornermen, which some users on social media had suggested was the case. Denying that he had spat in the corner, Whittaker told Sky Sports: 'You heard everybody boo me, they portray me as a bad guy. 'But I work very hard and my emotions came out - and I was roaring like a lion. If a little bit of dribble came out, a bit of dribble came out.' Sky Sports commentator Dave Coldwell had criticised Whittaker's actions as he shouted: 'Classless.' Olympic silver medallist Whittaker, from West Bromwich, went across the ring and poked his head through the ropes to celebrate in the face of Cameron's cornermen. Whittaker's trainer Andy Lee said: 'The barrage of insults he's had to put up since the the first fight with Cameron... not many people could put up with what he's gone through. 'His emotions are bound to get carried away. He is an emotional guy and he did lose control, but this is a champion.' Johnny Nelson was quick to defend Whittaker after the incident with Cameron's team, he said: 'It was emotion coming out. Frustration. Because of what he's gone through, he's been vilified. It's him saying 'I'm not washed up, everything you've said about me is complete rubbish. It's human emotion.'
