by Shaun Brown

He has been knocked down only to get up and win, he’s been stopped, knocked opponents out and he’s been cut and emerged victorious. All this and Liam Conroy still hasn’t boxed for an English title.

That, however, changes on Saturday night when the 25-year-old Cumbrian fights for the Light Heavyweight version inside the baker’s oven that is the York Hall.

Conroy (13-3-1, 5 KOs) challenges champion Joel McIntyre for his belt and described it as “an honour” to be fighting for it when he spoke to Boxing Scene.

“A few years ago, I would never have thought I’d be in this situation to box for an English title,” said Conroy.

“It’s unreal how far I’ve come in the last couple of years… to fight for such a prestigious title. I’ll be dead proud to win it. The fact that there’s a chance to move on and fight for a British title - it’s everyone’s dream to fight for a British title. I’m buzzing to be fighting for an English title.”

Trained by Johnny Roye out of the MTK Manchester gym in Preston, Conroy will be looking to win his third professional title after winning the WBC Youth Silver last year and the Northern Area 175lb championship when he stopped Steve Cooper in the 9th round of their ten-round bout at Bowlers in Manchester in May.

It’s all a far cry from the nine-year-old who was taken to a gym by his mum just to lose a bit of weight, and to get into some sort of sporting activity. Four years later and the love for the sport would hit him and have him hooked.  After many a tear-up, and having experienced so much in the ring as his five years as a pro he’s ready to put all of it to good use against McIntyre this weekend.

“I feel like I’ve experienced enough and had enough rounds. So, it’s time now to start using some of that experience I’ve gained and see where I can go,” said the fighter who also works as a Mechanical Engineer by day.

And with that experience has come the knowledge that he doesn’t have to have a war every time he fights. More thinking is applied nowadays by Conroy. A greater understanding of the science of the sport has taken him away from the young man who used to take pride from coming out of a gruelling battle with the marks to prove it.

“My trainer Johnny Roye made me aware of the fact that it’s a hard sport to keep your career going. You can’t really have a long career fighting in that way, even with the fights I used to win I used to take a lot of damage. I would come out really enjoying it.

“I used to have a mentality that I would like coming out of a war with niggles. I used to pride myself on that. Now I’d much rather make it an easier night’s work and not have to have so much time out of the gym before my next training camp.”

The career of Conroy had its bumps in the road from an early stage. In just his third fight, aged 20, he would suffer his first loss going down on points 57-58 to Gilson De Jesus in 2012. A strong support network of family and friends ensured that, while being devastated at the defeat, he could bounce back from it quickly. A four-fight winning streak would then be halted by the underrated and more than capable Max Maxwell in 2014. One that was not so easy to get over for Conroy as he explains.

“It was the Maxwell defeat that was hard for me to take because he had lost a lot of fights. I felt like I was starting to get going again then that happened. And I also lost to Cello Renda in Prizefighter [over a three-round format in 2015]. That was the only time I have been stopped in my career amateur or pro and I thought that was my chance to get going. The time wasn’t right obviously and I had a bit of time out after that and come back. I’ve done everything right since.

“It’s been an up and down career but I’ve learned a lot. I think it’s made me the boxer I am now. I’m thankful for all those losses.”