George Liddard is determined to prove on Friday against Derrick Osaze that he is ready to be “let off the leash”.
The 22 year old, from Billericay, Essex, England, fights Osaze at middleweight at London’s Indigo at The O2, and believes that an impressive performance will demonstrate his readiness to thereafter be matched with greater aggression.
Liddard is trained by the respected Tony Sims and promoted by Matchroom – in December he stopped Italy’s Omar Ilunga in the main event of the first Huge Boxing promotion overseen by Tony’s son Charlie – but in a division led in Britain by the promising Hamzah Sheeraz and the world-title challenger Denzel Bentley he wants to establish himself among their rivals.
“I think I’m one of the best domestically,” he said. “People might laugh at that, but I am. I know I’m 22 and I’ve got plenty of time, but I’m ready to be let off the leash and take over the domestic scene. We’ve got some good fighters over here at middleweight and there’s some great fights to be made, but I like the look of those fights in 2025. I don’t look past anyone. I’ve got to beat Osaze first. That’s for sure.
“Derrick is experienced domestically. He’s been around. He won a tournament at super welterweight. He’s beaten a couple of good fighters and lost to a couple of good fighters. I think it’s a good gauge – a good marking stick – of where I’m at on the domestic scene. I have no doubt that it’s going to be a destructive performance and I’m going to get the job done in style. Credit to him for taking the fight and stepping in there with me, because not many people want to.
“I go out there and I knock him out. He’s game, and I know he’s going to come to fight. I know he’s there to win, but that suits me. I like when they’re coming to fight. I like when they leave that little opening that split second – they think they’re going to catch me. I’m really excited for these fights. I’m fast, I’m strong. There’s not really anything I don’t have in the locker now. I’m fit. I’m ready to do the 10 rounds if needs be, but I don’t see it going that long.”
Confirmation that his stablemate Conor Benn will fight Chris Eubank Jnr on April 26 potentially presents Liddard with another high-profile occasion on which to fight. Incidentally Osaze, 31, has lost two of 15 fights – to Bentley, and Tyler Denny
“All of those press conferences sitting on the bottom table; now it’s my time to be the main event,” Liddard continued. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I’ve got a little bit of experience headlining already on other cards. It’s a fight [against Osaze] at the end of the day. That’s how I treat it. Whether I’m at the top of the card or the bottom of the card; it’s a fight. All I’ve got to do is win.
“I think I went from a boy to a man last year. Back of 2023, going into 2024, a couple of stale performances from me I’d say. I think that was just me transitioning from a boy to a man. I think I needed them to learn and push on. Obviously, the fight in Vegas [against Andrew Buchanan] weren’t my best performance but I beat an unbeaten guy in his own country and I learnt a lot while I was out there.
“From then, we’ve been on one hell of a run. I’ve beaten a couple of unbeaten fighters; a couple of prospects and I’ve knocked people out. I think I’m really honing my skills. I’m looking forward to using them again on Friday.”
Also on Friday, the promising Junaid Bostan fights Bilal Fawaz for the vacant British junior-middleweight title.
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