George Liddard believes he’s matured exponentially, both physically and mentally over the past year-and-a-half as the Billericay man seeks to prove why he’s Britain’s best at 160lbs. The 22-year-old must first get past Derrick Osaze this weekend in his first main event matchup on Matchroom’s NXTGN bill.
Liddard levelling up as Osaze seeks to humble him
CANARY WHARF, LONDON — There’s noticeably a different swagger to George Liddard since the last time I saw him during a fight week.
Rewind 16 months and he was giddy before featuring on an Anthony Joshua fight night at The O2, as the former two-time unified world heavyweight champion stopped Robert Helenius in August 2023.
Now, albeit at the smaller indigo venue, he features in the headline spot across from a well-seasoned pro as Derrick Osaze (13-2, 3 KOs) looks to spoil their Friday night showdown, bouncing back from the first stoppage defeat of his career by world title challenger and current European champion Denzel Bentley last August.
The 22-year-old isn’t taking him lightly, but when asked to assess where the 31-year-old’s level is as an opponent, he told The Ring:
“I’d say he’s English, fringe British level, after all his only two losses were to Tyler Denny and Bentley, both European champions. He beat Kieron Conway to win the Boxxer tournament, so to beat him and put a big performance on, sets the tone for the rest of the 160-pound division.”
Bentley dropped and ultimately outpointed Brad Pauls to reclaim British middleweight gold on December 7, after the latter’s two-fight series with Nathan Heaney. The previous November, Heaney outboxed and pitched a career-best win over an out-of-sorts Bentley as the domestic scene unexpectedly broke into a winner-stays-on round robin.
How far off that British level is he?
“I’m ready. It’s just about experience now, hopefully Derrick can take me a few rounds, we’ll see, not many have been able to. Bring me Heaney and Pauls, I’ll show you what level I’m at… handle my business Friday night first and then we’ll be knocking on the doors of a lot of them soon, I’m excited and made for these big nights.”
Osaze joked that the West Ham supporter dresses like Eddie Hearn and probably shops at the same designer too, but beyond the smart brown two-piece suit and ever-growing profile as a prospect-turned-contender, he knows how good this younger man is. “You don’t headline a Matchroom card otherwise,” he quipped.
“I refuse to become anyone’s stepping stone or gatekeeper, they’ve brought me here for a reason and I’m here to mess up the script.
I win by any means necessary, he’s an up-and-coming prospect with a football club behind him but strip away all these big cameras, media attention, fans… when the referee signals for everyone to get out of the ring, it’s just us two.”
Where does Liddard’s confidence come from?
“Last year, I matured from a boy to a man, still young but have a wise head on young shoulders and you have to be in this game. I’ve dedicated my life to this sport. Tony [Sims, his trainer] is experienced, everyone around me is rubbing off. The biggest thing I learned is patience, was used to rushing and looking for knockouts but I’m not and they’re coming, so I’m excited to prove it on the bigger stages.”
The pre-fight underdog laughed at the suggestion this was clever matchmaking on Matchroom’s part, anticipating that Osaze had slid far enough for Liddard to be tested but eventually walk through him before moving onto bigger and better opposition later this year.
“I wouldn’t have accepted this, unless I was confident to win. Had the Denzel fight not gone as it did or the Dubai card got cancelled, I’m laughing because George knows he’s in for a tough night,” he told The Ring after Wednesday’s press conference. We’ll have to wait and see just how difficult it proves to be.
Weigh-in results, as follows
Commonwealth Silver middleweight title, 10 rounds: George Liddard (159.4lbs) vs. Derrick Osaze (159.7lbs)
English super-welterweight title, 10 rounds: Junaid Bostan (153.6lbs) vs. Bilal Fawaz (152.9lbs)
Middleweight, 8 rounds: Jimmy Sains (164.4lbs) vs. Pierre Rosadini (163.3lbs)
Super-featherweight, 8 rounds: Giorgio Visioli (133lbs) vs. Francisco Javier Lucero (134.9lbs)
Super-middleweight, 6 rounds: Cardiff’s Taylor Bevan (169.5lbs) vs. Szymon Kajda (166.2lbs)
Middleweight, 6 rounds: Emmanuel Buttigieg (162.6lbs) vs. James Todd (165.2lbs)
Super-lightweight, 6 rounds: Jesse Brandon (142.2lbs) vs. Brazil’s Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira (137.0lbs)
Flyweight, 6 rounds: Maisey Rose Courtney: 111.9lbs vs. Serbia’s Jasmina Nad: 110.5lbs
Picture source: Getty Images
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