By Ian S Palmer
Former British Super Featherweight Champion Liam Walsh takes on Andrey Klimov of Russia this Saturday, October 8th at the Harrow Leisure Centre in London, England. The undefeated Walsh and Klimov are meeting in a final eliminator for the IBF world title and a chance to challenge champion Jose Pedraza. This 12-round bout can be seen live in the UK on BoxNation. Walsh last fought in April when he stopped Troy James in the eighth round while Klimov’s last outing was a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Pedraza in June of 2015.
The 30-year-old Walsh is a southpaw who will climb into the ring with a perfect record of 20-0 along with 14 Kos while the 34-year-old Klimov is 19-2 and has 9 Kos to his name. Walsh has won his last three fights by knockout and has above-average power with a current knockout ratio of 70 per cent. However, he is stepping up in class. Walsh turned pro back in 2008 and has fought 124 rounds since then. Klimov has boxed 142 rounds since turning pro in 2009. Walsh stands just over 5-feet-7-inches tall with an unlisted reach while Klimov is an inch taller and has a 69.5-inch wingspan.
Walsh has good stamina and a lot of energy to burn with his relentless attack and is a good combination puncher. He’s not really considered a one-punch knockout artist as he typically stops opponents after an accumulation of punches. Walsh hasn’t really fought any world-class opponents as of yet with his best wins coming against the likes of Joe Murray, Gary Sykes, Kevin Hooper, Domenico Urbano and Scott Harrison. Klimov isn’t known as a heavy hitter and has a knockout ratio of 43 per cent.
Klimov has faced better quality opponents up to now, but wasn’t successful against them. The two losses on his record came against Terence Crawford and Jose Pedraza. Klima lost to Crawford by 10-round unanimous decision in October of 2013 He fought for the world title against Pedraza and dropped a unanimous decision last year. He also has wins over John Molina Jr. and Francisco Contreras. Klimov didn’t muster any type of attack on either of his losses and his lackluster performances more or less put the fans to sleep. The Russian will also be fighting ring rust on Saturday as it’s his first fight in 16 months.
If he’s going to have a chance in this fight, the Russian is definitely going to have to throw more punches than he did against Crawford and Pedraza. He’s got a solid chin so there’s a good chance this fight will go the distance, but Klimov will need to change his usual approach against a boxer as active as Walsh.
Prediction…
Klimov hasn’t appeared to be the most motivated boxer in the past, but his attitude and outlook may have changed during his recent layoff. He’s shown he has the chin and skills to tangle with world-class opponents, but not to beat them. If Klimov is motivated for this bout then Walsh will find him to be a difficult opponent. This makes it a tough bout to call, but Walsh should take a decision if he throws a high volume of punches like he usually does.
