Conah Walker takes Midlands welterweight title
Wolverhampton has a new champion after Conah Walker won the vacant Midlands Area welterweight title in Sheffield.
The 26 year old took good support with him to Yorkshire and they cheered him on to an exciting 10-round points win over Birmingham’s Levi Ferguson.
The referee scored the fight 96-95, a puzzling interpretation of a fight Walker appeared to win clearly.
Glenn McCrory, the former IBF cruiserweight champion commentating on the show for Fightzone, had Walker ahead by five rounds at the final bell.
Though the rounds were competitive, Walker was better in every department and handed Ferguson a count in the sixth round.
He felt he won by a wider margin and afterwards declared: “I’m ready to push on for big fights now.
“The next step is the English title and we will see what my manager can come up with.”
McCrory clearly believes Walker has a good future, praising his footwork, upper body movement and punch picking during what he described as an “epic” fight.
Walker wasn’t entirely satisfied with his performance. He ended the fight bruised around his left eye, proof Ferguson had his successes with right hands, and said: “He landed some shots when I switched off, but I always felt comfortable and thought I would it by a few more rounds.”
Walker settled quicker, Ferguson rallied in the third and fourth – and then Walker went up a gear.
He had Ferguson grabbing in the fifth and handed him a count in the next.
Ferguson tried to find a response, but found Walker hard to hit in a battle fought at a ferocious pace until the final bell.
