LONDON – For years, Kieron Conway was tagged as a tidy boxer who couldn’t punch.
Now, as he prepares to defend his British middleweight title against unbeaten 20-year-old George Liddard on Saturday at York Hall in London, that reputation is fading fast. Conway has stopped three of his past four opponents, including a vicious four-round beatdown of Gerome Warburton in May to claim the Lord Lonsdale belt. Ahead of this Saturday’s bout, the experienced Conway is fancied by many to be too much for the 12-0 (7 KOs) Liddard.
Conway, now 29 years old and 23-3-1 (7 KOs), has found his best form, as well as his punching power, in recent fights. But to what does he owe his new spiteful side in the ring?
“I would say the thing that changed is my mindset,” Conway told BoxingScene. “Even when I was a kid, my amateur coach used to tell me all the time that I’m one of the hardest punchers that he’s ever felt on the pads, but when I got in the ring I just didn’t have that bit of spite. So I just did what I do, went through the motions and won the fight.
“I think if you look back, whenever I hit people, they kind of change their game plan a little bit and the pace really goes down. The pace slowed down quite a bit in most of my fights, and it’s probably because of the stiffness in my punches, but I never turned the screw, never really sat on the punch.”
That all changed, Conway said, when he became a father.
“But now since things have changed in life, my little baby daughter [was born], it’s all different,” he said. “Everything’s different – it’s not about me, it’s about supporting her, feeding her. I’ve got a family, I’ve got houses, so it’s not about me anymore. It’s about something else. And that comes from a different place.”
Most men mellow after becoming fathers. Conway went the other way, finding that extra spark with something else to fight for.
“I think it goes one way or the other, to be fair,” he said. “I’ve seen it go both ways in people, even in boxing and other sports. But for me, it’s insanely intense. Every single session, every single diet plan, every single time I’ve got to do that track work, I’ve got to push myself to the limit, to exhaustion. Every time I’ve got to do something that I don’t really want to do, it’s non-negotiable. You don’t even negotiate with yourself anymore. It’s a different thing, it’s a deeper level.”
That deeper level has shown in his recent performances. Conway, of Northampton, UK, looks sharper, more spiteful and more willing to step in and finish when he has his man hurt.
“Yeah, I'm looking forward to this one,” Conway said of facing Liddard. “I've been looking forward to this one for a while, to be fair. It's been a long training camp – glad to see the back end of it – and I really want to put this one to bed, I do.”
Tom Ivers is an amateur boxer who has a masters degree in sports journalism. He had his first bout in 2013, joined BoxingScene in 2024 and is now a key part of the UK and social media teams.
