WORLDS APARTno
No luxury problem for Walsh
GERVONTA DAVIS is preparing to defend his IBF super-featherweight title in the luxury of the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas.
Floyd Mayweather Jnr, one of the richest men in sport and Davis’ promoter, has been overseeing his training in the gym he built with his vast earnings from the sport.
But in the corner of an industrial estate on the outskirts of Norwich, the challenger is getting in shape in what he rightly describes as a “spit and sawdust” gym.
“Have you ever heard of a gym without a shower?” said unbeaten Liam Walsh, who will face Davis at the Copper Box in London.
A tiny ring sits in the corner, eight bags hang from a ceiling which looks like it has seen better days and the only decorations on the walls of the Kickstop gym are old fight posters.
There are no showers, there are no dressing rooms, the paint is fading off the walls.
This is a world away from the bright lights of Vegas but still has everything Walsh needs to prepare for his May 20 date with destiny.
With twin brother Ryan alongside him, Walsh took us on a short warmup run around the industrial estate as the pair reminisced about the early part of their camp in the far warmer climate of Tenerife.
“I think one lap will be enough today,” said Liam to his brother, as the bitter wind whipped around.
The two are inseparable. They make the 40-minute drive to the gym from Cromer together each day and live next door to each other with a door adjoining the two houses.
Liam, 30, wonders if training in less glamorous surroundings will help him to be tougher than Davis, who hails from the crime-ridden streets of Baltimore.
“Probably not, it is about who is the better fighter on the night and that will be me,” he said.
Walsh was due to fight for the WBO lightweight title in 2012, only for a car crash to rule him out.
But as his belated world title shot nears, is he excited by the possibility of big-money bouts and adulation?
“I don’t really do fame or fortune,” added Walsh, who avoids social media and trains all year round.
“If someone told me I could have £300 a week from now until the end then I’d be happy never to receive another fight purse.”