Tony Sims has revealed his middleweight hope George Liddard believes that he is good enough to go on to win world honors.

Liddard takes a significant step up on Saturday when he faces the tried-and-tested Kieron Conway at York Hall, Bethnal Green, in London's east end on a show promoted by Matchroom and broadcast on DAZN.

“He’s only 23, so he’s really young still and especially to challenge for a British title. And he kind of turned pro with all the youngsters on the scene. He turned pro with Cameron Vuong and Junaid Boston and all them, but he’s kind of been under the radar a little bit. 

“But I like it like that because he’s come on nice and quietly. And he’s made the right step ups at the right time. He done a hard 10-rounder against [Derrick] Osaze. And then his last fight was an eliminator for the British title. We stopped [Aaron Sutton, who was 19-1] in the fifth round. And so he’s made them step ups in his career. And I believe now he’s ready to fight for the British title. And obviously, he’s got a really good opponent in Kieron Conway, who’s experienced.”

Sims knows about Conway, too. Conway boxed Ted Cheeseman to a draw in 2019, when Sims was working with Cheeseman – then the British champion at 154lbs.

“But years have gone by and now George Liddard’s the up-and-coming young kid. And that’s how boxing goes. It evolves. And I think it’s George's chance now to go and grab the title.”

Liddard, “The Billericay Bomber”, is unflinching in his belief that he can win a world title.

He’s 12-0 (7 KOs) and the Essex prospect is clearly confident. 

“It’s coming quite quickly to them,” Sims said of his success. “But you’ve also got to keep the brakes on and keep them grounded and that kind of stuff. It’s a fine line. And you’ve obviously got to have the belief in this sport, because if you ain’t got the belief, it ain’t worth even trying to do it. 

“So you’ve got to believe that you’re a good fighter and you can do anything in the ring. And that self-belief sometimes is what brings you through a hard fight. And obviously the other things you’ve got to have about yourself is obviously you’ve got to have that willingness to put yourself through hard training sessions; brutal training sessions. You’ve obviously got to have the skill factor and you’ve got to be able to punch, I believe, in a pro game. And obviously George is still learning. 

“He’s British title level now and he’s still learning. He’s really young. He’s got loads of self-belief. If he wins the British title against Kieron, which is going to be a tough fight, and if he moves up to the next level, you’ve got to bring yourself up with that. Only time will tell how far any kid goes. Every kid that you see sits on the edge of the ring canvas says, ‘I want to be a world champion’. 

“But it’s like I say to him, it’s like a needle in a haystack becoming a world champion. It’s a real difficult thing because if you have got all them things, all them credentials about yourself, you can box, you can punch, you can train hard, you’ve got plenty of heart and desire, you’ve got self-belief… When you get up to world level or in for a world title, the guy you’re facing in the other corner has got exactly the same as you. So you’re kind of fighting a mirror image of yourself. Sometimes, at the end of the day, it just becomes on heart alone in the end. And so like you say, to have self-belief is a brilliant thing to have. You’ve got to have that.”

Fighting for the domestic title at York Hall is not a world crown, but fighting in the prestigious old building is on the bucket list for many British fighters. Liddard boxed there in 2024, dropping Omar Ilunga three times and stopping him inside a round. 

“But you’ve got to take it one step at a time,” Sims added. “And to be champion of Great Britain, be the best in your weight in Great Britain, that’s a big thing. And it kind of shows you where you’re going to go if you win that title; where you’re going to go from there.”

Domestically the division is tough, too, with the likes of Denzel Bentley, Brad Pauls and Nathan Heaney, in addition to the 29-year-old Conway all vying for contention.

“The middleweight division has always been a tough division – you’ve always had great fighters in the middleweight division,” Sims continued.

“I mean, when John Ryder [who Sims also trained] was in the middleweight division, when he was young and up and coming, Billy Joe Saunders was also young and up and coming. But you had Andy Lee; Darren Barker; Martin Murray; Matthew Macklin. It was all world-ranked top fighters. We’ve always had an abundance of talent in the middleweight division. They’ve always produced speed and power and athleticism as well. And that’s what makes the middleweight division like the blue-ribbon division. It’s a tough division to be in and you’ve got to be a really good fighter to get to the top.”

Sims has another middleweight on the bill, too, in the promising 24-year-old Jimmy Sains, who is around a year behind Liddard in his development. A decorated amateur at Repton, the 10-0 (9 KOs) Sains is looking to impress on the same bill on October 17 against the 14-3-1 Troy Coleman in their fight for the vacant English title.

“He’s making the right step ups as well,” Sims said. “He won the southern-area title last time [defeating Gideon Onyenani]. His first time he went to a points decision. So he’s done a tough 10 rounds – that will stand him in good stead for this fight. And it’s just about making the step ups at the right time. Keep learning in the gym. Keep believing in yourself. And then just take the right one step at a time. And the English title right now for Jimmy is the ideal title to fight for.”