Advertisement
Boxing
Will Denny deliver domestic clean sweep with British title triumph?
Liddard vs. Denny: Subscribe to watch - Saturday
Tyler Denny has a gap in his trophy cabinet - and you can bet that the star wants to plug it this weekend at the Copper Box Arena.
Already an English and European middleweight champion, the veteran star still lacks maybe the biggest domestic belt on his waist.
Arriving in London to tackle incumbent British champion George Liddard, Denny undoubtedly fancies his chances to deliver again.
But prising the Lonsdale Belt from a man many see as a future world-level contender may well force him to swim in deeper waters.
Liddard is young. Twenty-three years old, he has a whole decade and change underneath Denny, the hunger of youth on his side.
Flip it around though, and it is the elder fighter who can count on those extra miles, who will hope age has delivered wisdom too.
It ensures that, on paper at least, there is more than enough intrigue and jeopardy to their contest, live from the capital on DAZN.
In practice however? Denny will likely need to call on all of his skills if he is to deliver on a domestic clean sweep this time around.
The long and winding road
A Midlands Area champion in his professional youth, Denny went unbeaten until a technical loss against Reece Cartwright in 2018.
It marked his first crack at securing the English middleweight title - and there would be three more across the subsequent years.
Denny came up short again versus Linus Udofia the following year, and was then denied by a draw in 2021 versus River Wilson-Bent.
He finally snatched the crown seven months later in a rematch, mounting some major defences against Bradley Rea and Brad Pauls.
In May 2023, he switched tracks and headed into European competition, claiming the vacant crown there against Macaulay McGowan.
Further wins over Matteo Signani and Felix Cash followed, before Denny's sliding-doors defeat to Hamzah Sheeraz ended his reign.
It was less so the loss than the manner of defeat - a ruthless second-round TKO - that seemed to cut away any world title prospects.
Two victories since, over Elvis Ahorgah and Grant Dennis, have restored some grit to that granite fist though - and not a moment too soon.
Time running out for last-chance glory?
Thirty-four now, Denny is fast approaching what many fighters would consider to be the back-end of their careers, if not the twilight.
While plenty of big names continue to defy the years, the star will know that every camp grows a little tougher with each passing month.
Liddard's youth, exuberance and belief has so far appeared to be an unstoppable force in comparison. His chinks are yet to be exposed.
Denny has experience, both good and bad, in his back pocket to pull upon this weekend. It is that which gives him an edge to some.
At the same time, the psychological desire to not only take the British title, but complete a set with it, adds an extra incentive to his power.
Liddard has his own ambitions to reach the top. But time is on his side. A loss here would not prove fatal to a glittering future at the top.
For Denny, this isn't the end of the road - yet the car park for retirement from the ring might just be glimpsed around the corner too.
Win on Saturday night, and there will be more asphalt beneath his wheels. Win on Saturday night and his place in British boxing is secured.
Sign up to DAZN Ultimate Tier to get PPVs included in your subscription
Subscribe to DAZN Ultimate Tier to get a minimum of 12 PPV events included per year, including Chisora vs. Wilder (April 4), and Wardley vs. Dubois (May 9), on top of another 185 fight nights and Serie A football.
