George Liddard headlined Huge Boxing’s first foray into professional boxing on Friday night and the Billericay middleweight brought the curtain down on a successful 2024 with a one-sided first round stoppage of Italian veteran Omar Ilunga at York Hall.

 

Ilunga, 29-3-1 (16 KOs), may have arrived with a shiny record but offered virtually no resistance and touched down three times in barely over a minute. That isn’t Liddard’s fault. Illunga had never previously been stopped, but from the opening bell it was clear that the 40-year-old had either finally got old overnight or didn’t fancy the job.

 

Liddard, 10-0 (6 KOs), went about his job with the minimum of fuss and did exactly what he was supposed to do.

 

Liddard, 22, has now reeled off eight straight wins against fighters with winning records with five of those coming this year; an impressive fifth-round stoppage of George Davey in September being the highlight. 

 

Last night’s win should mark the end of Liddard’s apprenticeship. He looks ready to begin pushing towards some kind of domestic title and he also spoke about getting involved in the WBC’s newly announced tournament. 

 

The WBC Grand Prix of Boxing will be open to fighters who are under 26 years of age and with fewer than professional fights under their belt. Liddard just about scrapes in. 

 

“I had a 29-2 opponent who’d never been stopped in my tenth professional fight at 22 [years old]. We push on now. I want titles. That’s it,” he said after the fight. 

 

“I see there’s a little tournament going on in Saudi. I’ll put my name in the hat for that. I need to talk to my management team first and we’ll discuss it but I’m ready.

 

“I know I’m 22 and young but as you can see, I’m naturally talented and I train like nothing else.”

 

The middleweight division does seem to have a bright future. Jimmy Sains, 8-0 (8 KOs), racked up his sixth win of the year and maintained his 100% stoppage ratio by getting rid of Estonia’s Dmitri Protkunas in the second round.

 

Sains has breezed through his first 15 months as a professional. The 24-year-old is more than ready for a step up in level and - ideally - would now be matched with a British opponent who brings some pride and determination to the table. So far, his opponents have lost all ambition after tasting the Romford fighter’s power.

 

Any prospective opponents may require some kind of added temptation before stepping into the ring with Sains but it should be possible to put him directly into some kind of domestic eliminator early in the new year. Unless, of course, he also likes the idea of getting involved in the WBC’s new venture. Either way, we should see Sains tested in early 2025. 

 

On the undercard, former English welterweight title challenger Inder Bassi, 14-2 (1 KO), got four rounds under his belt by outboxing Michael Mooney and will hope to position himself for another title shot next year. 

 

Shannon Ryan, 8-1 (1 KO), got the first stoppage of her career by halting Kate Radomska in the third round. It was Ryan’s first appearance since losing a British and Commonwealth title fight to Emma Dolan in June.

 

OTHER RESULTS

 

Maisey Rose Courtney W PTS 6 Klaudia Ferenczi

Julia Lee W PTS 4 Sara Orszagi



John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79