By: Sean Crose
Middleweight Austin Williams (11-0) opened DAZN’s Canelo-Golovkin pay-per-view card Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas by taking on Kieron Conway (18-2-1) in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds. The opening chapter was something of a testing process for each man. Williams moved forward as Conway tried to contain the range.
Things stayed close in the second as southpaw Williams looked to land his hard shots and the defensive-minded Conway aimed to keep his man away with a jab. The fight kept up a fairly slow pace in the third, perhaps due to Conway holding off Williams. Conway then met his punches effectively in the fourth. By the fifth, it seemed that Williams was uncomfortable with Conway’s jab-focused strategy.
All six watched Williams continue to try to get into his man. He landed well at times, but at the time it certainly wasn’t an exciting fight. Williams finally landed and landed hard in the seventh. Conway stayed on his feet, but Williams was now motivated. It was still hard to get to Conway, but Williams WAS getting to him now. Conway was able to find a home for his jab in the eighth, but William’s shots clearly took their toll, a fact to which the blood on Conway’s face attests.
By the ninth round, Conway was just getting beaten up. A powerful uppercut knocked Conway down. The brave Englishman got back to his feet, but he was clearly losing the fight at that point. Williams worked hard to eliminate Conway in the tenth and final round. He couldn’t finish the fight early, but the judges gave Williams a win for UD after the final bell.
