Can Liddard break Lonsdale middleweight curse for world glory?

Twenty-three years young, the star is bidding to retain the crown he took from Kieron Conway last year against Tyler Denny in London.

British boxing has a long and proud history at 160 pounds. Benn, Eubank, Pyatt, Minter, Barker - all have conquered the world's heights.

But even as domestic fighters go from strength to strength in other divisions, there appears to be a fallow period at hand here right now.

Britain has not had a world middleweight champion since Billy Joe Saunders, the best part of a decade ago. Such glory has lacked since.

There have been contenders and pretenders. Chris Eubank Jr. has held interim straps at this weight, but never converted the full belt.

It means the pressure to succeed at world level weighs heavier than it may do for others on Liddard. Here is a fighter with major ambitions.

Against Denny, he has the chance to seize the spotlight - and with it, take a step towards breaking the Lonsdale Belt curse down the line.

A decade of downturns

Since Saunders relinquished the British crown in 2015, just shy of a dozen men have held it in their arms, including Liddard himself.

Some of the names jump off the page - Eubank Jr. and former WBO middleweight challenger Liam Williams - but others register less so.

There are those who saw their pursuits come to a premature conclusion. Nick Blackwell was infamously forced into medical retirement.

But for stars like Tommy Lanford and Denzel Bentley, their lack of world-level credentials comes in part from their failures to defend their place.

For fighters with their eyes on the biggest prizes, the Lonsdale Belt is as much a stepping stone as it is an accolade, a stop on the way up.

Yet for many, it is the proverbial roadblock that can prevent them from reaching the world level, defeat a signifier of limitations and hurdles.

Liddard, to keep himself in the conversation for a world title down the line, must ensure this first defence comes off without a hitch to show.

Of course, that is easier said than done - and with Denny chasing his own piece of history, the stakes feel particularly loaded this time around.

Can Liddard push on to join new wave of stars?

With youth on his side, Liddard has plenty of miles left in the tank. He will know there is no rush, and can take heart from other stars right now.

He need only see Jazza Dickens and Anto Cacace's super-featherweight title bout on Saturday to know there is time for him to make good.

Yet the Lonsdale Belt remains, at this juncture, the signifier by which his prospects for the future will be judged, and his powers measured.

It makes this weekend's test against Denny all the more critical - the chance to take a second key scalp after Conway and enhance himself.

Defeat would perhaps not be the roadblock it has been for many. Liddard's backers and supporters still firmly believe the sky is the limit.

But it would undoubtedly dull the lustre, strike a first chink in the armour he has built so far across an impressive rise through the ranks.

Triumph here and retain his crown, the powerbrokers that be will surely be plotting further defences throughout the rest of 2026 and beyond.

If he passes all those tests with flying colours, then Liddard's moment to move for bigger prizes will grow ever closer - and with it, a chance for history.

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