Conah Walker vows to 'rip up the script' in Birmingham bout

The Wolverhampton welterweight meets Ireland’s Crocker in what promises to be an explosive contest few expect to go the scheduled 10 rounds at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena.

Crocker, the former WBO European champion, boasts a perfect professional and is considered one of the heaviest hitters in the division, having stopped 11 of his 19 opponents.

But Walker is in confident mood after halting previously unbeaten fighters in his last two contests and has warned the visiting fighter to under-estimate him at his peril.

He said: “It seems like deja vu. I am sat in the same spot as I was last time and I think I am going to be another banana skin.

“I see him looking over me. He does not think I should be in the ring with him.

“But I am ready to rip up the script again. I am coming in the best shape of my life.”

Wins over Cyrus Pattinson and Lloyd Germain have seen Walker shoot up the rankings and he would be firmly on course for a possible world title shot if he can see off Crocker. It would continue a stunning turnaround for the 29-year-old, whose 16 fight professional record includes two defeats.

He said: “I took the fights no-one else wanted to take. That is the bottom line. I might have losses on my record but look closely at them and there is a point here, a point there.

“You can’t look at those fights and think that is where he is going wrong. I am one step, a couple of steps away from a world title. Look where I was two years ago. I lost a close decision for the English title and was beating myself up.

“But I have bounced back. I have learned. I feel I am becoming a more complete fighter.

“I started my career knowing I would take losses because of the way I fight. But I have learned on the job. Those losses have not stopped me from getting to where I am now.”

The Walker-Crocker clash acts as chief support to Tyler Denny's European middleweight defence against Felix Cash.

Walker's club mate at Bilston's RG Boxing Academy, Walsall's Hamza Uddin, will make his first TV appearance earlier in the evening in just his second professional fight.

The 20-year-old former amateur ace stopped Santiago San Eusebio on debut two months ago and is moving up two divisions to super bantamweight to fight Italy's Giulio Commerso after original opponent, Jose Maria Hernandez, pulled out.

"I fully deserve to be on the main broadcast," said Uddin. "You don't see many debuts like mine.

"Unfortunately we had a pull out. Not many wanted to fight me. One did but he is a few weights above me. But that doesn't matter. He is getting knocked out the same way."