Kurt Walker exclusive: I’m probably an underdog to be honest
Kurt Walker is looking forward to announcing himself as a significant player on the British featherweight scene this weekend.
Walker, (12-0, 2 KOs), scaled the heights as an amateur, winning multiple major championship medals and representing Ireland at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Professional boxing is an entirely different proposition and former British, European and IBO world super bantamweight champion, Liam Davies (16-1, 8 KOs), promises to present the 30-year-old with his most severe test to date on Saturday night. For all the latest fight odds, visit our sportsbook.
Walker and Davies will fight on the undercard of the eagerly awaited super featherweight fight between Anthony Cacace and Leigh Wood which takes place in Nottingham.
After putting in an uncharacteristic performance and losing his unbeaten record to Shabaz Masoud last November, the tall, rangy Davies will be making a belated move up to featherweight on Saturday night but whilst Walker admits that the big punching Davies will pose a serious challenge, he is confident of beating him and racking up a career best win.
“I’m a sharpshooter”
“I know he’s probably been sparring featherweights and he’s been knocking people over at super bantamweight but it is different when you come to featherweight. A lot of the guys I’m fighting have been heavier,” Walker told 32Red.
“I’m a sharpshooter really. Fighting at middle to long distance is what I did in the amateurs most of the time.
“It just depends on what I feel like on the night. Sometimes I can go long and just do it long but, obviously, it’s harder when someone’s got long levers.
“I just think it’s one of those fights where the game plan will be the game plan but when you get in there, it’s going to be different.”
Walker has been crying out for a high stakes fight of this magnitude for some time. After turning professional with that outstanding amateur CV, he took some time to find his feet but has shone in his victories over James Beech and Lyon Woodstock.
“This is what I’m in it for”
Davies represents a sizeable step up in class for Walker but it is one he is ready for.
“Yeah, it’s exactly what I called for many fights ago,” he said.
“This is what I’m in it for; big fights and 50-50 fights, I’m probably even an underdog in this fight to be honest.
“That’s what I want, where I’m not just fighting any eejit to get on the show.
“I want to be in big fights.”
If he gets past Davies, there will be plenty more big fights in Walker’s future. The British featherweight department is thriving.
“What makes it good is people taking risks”
WBA world champion, Nick Ball, leads the way whilst British and Commonwealth champion, Zak Miller, is a fighter on the rise.
Next month, there is an important Scottish derby between Nathaniel Collins and Lee McGregor.
Walker is already eyeing a prime spot on the undercard of the hotly anticipated rematch between Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan and with so many moving parts and a big win under his belt, he will be in prime position to make great strides in the coming months.
“I think it’s class. I think it’s good in the UK,” he said. “What makes it good is people taking risks and not being afraid to lose because a loss isn’t a loss like it was five or ten years ago. It’s exciting because if people are going to take a step up and take a risk, they’re going to fight again, which I think is good. The people that aren’t willing to take risks are safer just stepping back.
“It’s interesting to see who the winners of every fight will be and what will happen next.”
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