Northampton boxer Conway gets 'career back on track' as he sees off rival Metcalf

Kieron Conway is declared the winner in Liverpool on Saturday

The Northampton boxer produced a strong performance to see off Metcalf in the super welterweight contest at the M&S Bank Arena.

Conway dominated the fight from the start and although Metcalf, cheered on by the vast majority of the crowd in his home town, retaliated strongly in the later rounds, the Team Shoe-Box man had done enough to persuade all three judges he had won it.

Conway's reach and height was a problem for Metcalf throughout, with the Northampton man feeling he controlled proceedings for pretty much all 10 rounds.

"It was a tight fight, in the early rounds especially, maybe the first five," Conway told iFL TV. "But I think I won pretty clearly, I controlled the pace well with the distance.

"There were maybe one or two rounds, perhaps seven and eight, that he started to get in a good few rounds.

"But I stayed calm because I was pretty sure I was well up on the scorecards so it couldn't have made too much of a difference in my opinion.

"I was never in any trouble at all and felt like I was in control, but it was tighter that I expected it to be before the fight."

Both men went into the fight off the back of defeats, with Metcalf having lost a British title fight against Ted Cheeseman, and Conway losing his WBA Inter-Continental belt to Souleymane Cissokho in Texas.

It was a risky fight for the 25-year-old former Kings Heath amateur to take on, but he wanted to go out and make a statement.

"I didn't underestimate JJ at all, I knew he was tough," said Conway. "You can tell just by looking at him that he looks as hard as nails, and he brought a bit more to the table than I thought he would.

"I thought he was just going to try and steam into me from the start, but he had a gameplan, and he did well.

"But I did what I had to do, I got my career back on track with a win, and that is all that matters.

"I had a good JJ turn up in this fight, he was probably close to his best and he was desperate to get a win after coming off that loss to Ted Cheeseman.

"Losing at domestic level, a lot of people in the crowd and in the audience would say that is his last chance, but it's not, he is a good fighter. He has more to come."

Following Conway's win over Metcalf, Cheeseman went on to lose his British Super Welterweight title as he was beaten by Troy Williamson, who claimed a TKO in the 10th round.

Conway's win over Metcalf means he now has a professional record of 17 wins, one draw and two defeats.