Mature Walsh draws a line under drawn fight

Ireland’s second youngest pro may just be one of our most mature.

Teen pug Liam Walsh [3(1)-0-1]hit an early pothole drawing with rugged Russian Vasif Mamedov in Doncaster last time out but has taken the speed bump in his stride and hasn’t let it derail him anyway.

The young prospect admits the draw hurt at the time and can still prove a catalyst for frustration. However, he is content he managed to learn a huge lesson without tasting defeat.

In fact, the Kerry prospect goes into his clash with Martin Shaw [3(1)-8(4)-1] looking at the minor blemish as a positive.

“It was a good fight and a very tough test,” he reflects when speaking to Irish-boxing.com.

“I started as planned but took a strong shot and had to adapt. There was a lot to learn from it. Initially I was disappointed, but soon after, in reflection, I felt quite positive in terms of reacting to a different challenge and from the overall experience gained.

“I was keen to get back in the gym and work on different aspects straight away.”

Expanding on the learnings he took from the entertaining fight with the Russian he said: “I’ve learnt to deal with different situations in the ring and alternative styles of opponent. Understanding the power of the pro game too. We have been working on more strength and conditioning for my core too.”

Back-to-back slip-ups wouldn’t be ideal, even for one so young, meaning there should be pressure on the teen going into this clash.

However, having evaluated what went wrong and worked on it, the ‘Kingdom Kid’ is feeling assured and confident going into the Leicester Arena hosted fight.

“No more nerves than usual. And I am feeling confident after a very smooth camp.

“It’s necessarily must win because it is a personal learning journey and I will develop different strengths in my own time. Of course, the intention is always to win, but we have a long-term plan,” the Tony Davitt trained fighter adds.

As a Davitt trained Carl Greaves managed fighter, Walsh looks a cert for the November 19 Dublin card but won’t be drawn on any potential National Stadium adventure. His focus solely on this weekend.

“Firstly, the focus is on Leicester this weekend. It would be amazing to fight in Dublin later this year, so hopefully, that can be something we explore after. It Would be my 6th pro fight in a year. So I am delighted with the activity.”