Conah Walker is 21 fights into his career and in the form of his life.
Victories over Harry Scarff, Liam Taylor and Pat McCormack have carried him into the world rankings and a potential thriller with Sam Eggington in a Midlands derby in Wolverhampton tonight.
And while things have unmistakably been going well for Walker, it has been quite a journey for the 17-3-1 (8 KOs) contender, who can speak about his happiness in boxing now having experienced many of the ups and downs that this sport can offer.
“I’m a confident, I’m a strong believer in believing in myself. I put out good energy. I put the working in the gym,” Walker told BoxingScene. “I do everything right. I do everything in my power to perform at the best of my ability. So I believe I’m the best Conah Walker at the moment. I’m 30 years old. I’m in my prime. I fought every style that you could think of. And, yeah, I’m riding the crest of the wave. My confidence is oozing. So I’m a dangerous man.”
Fighters trained by Jamie Moore have long said a happy fighter is a dangerous one, and Walker feels that in the gym, alongside the likes of Dave Allen and Pat Brown
“It’s a wicked gym to be in,” Walker added.
“Them two [Allen and Brown] are just like Tweedledee and Tweedledum. But they’re just class to be around. They’re good people. But we’re all in it for the same thing. And business is business in the gym. As much as you see on the socials and the internet or whatever, outside the gym, we have a laugh, but in that gym, we work hard. Make no mistake about it, when we’re in there, we’re like demons.”
The gym lost a star fighter last year when highly-ranked Jack Catterall began training in Philadelphia with Bozy Ennis.
While there were hurt feelings, Moore and Catterall’s friendship remained in place.
“I don’t want to discuss other people’s business,” Walker said. “That’s not for me to sit here and talk about, if you want me to be completely honest with you. I’m friends with Jack. Jamie’s not only my coach, he’s one of the best friends I’ve got. That’s their business. I know they’re back on good terms now and I’m glad they are, because they’ve built a lot together. It’d be a shame just to split what they’ve got in a friendship.”
Walker having a competitive fight with IBF welterweight champion Lewis Crocker back in June 2024 has served to illustrate to Walker that he belongs at the top table at welterweight. He wants a world title, and he’d like to fight Crocker again.
“I’ve proved myself,” he said.
“Over the last few years, I’ve proved where I’m at and I’ve proved that I’m world level. I’ve just got to get that stroke of luck, really. That’s what it is all about, because there’s fighters out there that are world level and never get the opportunity to fight for a world title because of one reason or the other; financial, luck, just not being in the right place at the right time. So, I can’t sit on the shelf and wait around. I need to stay busy. I’m a busy fighter. I’ve had three fights a year for the last how many years? I’m not one to sit around.”
Walker understands fighting Eggington is “risky.” But the lure of a homecoming war was too much to resist. He also knows that if he can work out Eggington’s style and adapt as the fight goes on it will stand him in good stead for future challenges.
There’s been plenty of lessons along the way.
When Walker lost to Kane Gardner in an eight-rounder in 2023, he admitted to feeling deflated but he believes that loss encouraged the then unbeaten Cyrus Pattinson to face him, and he stopped Cyrus in eight rounds, dropping him three times.
“With the lows come the highs and then same with the Crocker, the Crocker loss put me straight into the British title fight [against Lewis Ritson], and British titles have always been a dream of mine, since starting my career, [the] British title was all I wanted. So you’ve got to take the good with the bad but I just think in life, there’s peaks and troughs with everything you do. I try and take everything with a pinch of salt and try and put a positive spin on it all because life's too hard in itself to put yourself down over decisions or losses. I’ve never been in that point where I think, ‘Oh, fuck the game, because I love the game. I love boxing. I love the art of boxing. I don’t just love the fighting. I love what it gives you in more ways than just punching someone in the head. Boxing is more to me than just a job and everything else that’s with it. It’s a lifestyle.”
Of course, if Walker is to fulfil his ambitions it will afford him a different lifestyle.
And he believes Moore is the man to take him there. Walker said leaving former trainer Richie Ghent was the toughest decision of his career, and he did that after one of his biggest wins, over Harry Scarff.
“It was just where I was at in my own headspace,” Walker explained. “I needed a fresh start.
“And many boxers will tell you, sometimes you just need a fresh pair of eyes and a fresh start. And I needed to take myself out of my comfort zone. Jamie has always been a fighter that I’ve looked up to and wanted to emulate my style to. And having that British title and having that sort of ability to be able to go to one of the best coaches in the world or even ask the question, I’ll be stupid not to take the opportunity. And if I didn’t take the opportunity and ask the question, I could have lived the rest of my life with regret and I’m not prepared to do that. It was nothing against the training set up. I left on the biggest win of my career.”
He believes he could have got there with Ghent, but he also didn’t want to live with any regret. He also trains alongside Chantelle Cameron, who has split two fights with Katie Taylor.
If Walker allows himself to dream, could he see stablemate Cameron facing Taylor a third time at Croke Park, Ireland’s national stadium, with himself in a rematch with Crocker for a world title on the undercard.
His wry smile indicates how unlikely a scenario it is, but daring to dream, he’d love it.
“The Crocker one is what I want because I want to right the wrong,” he said. “People have got their opinions on the fight and their sort of decision, but it was a close fight and arguably I’ve beat a world champion, but I didn’t get the decision. I’m all right with that because what I’ve done after that fight is I’ve gone and picked up a load of silverware and I’ve raised my profile and like you say, it sells. It’s a great fight. He’s got his obligations. I’ve got mine. Let’s get through what we’ve got to get through and hopefully we can get it done.”
Of that Croke Park scenario, Walker said: “It would be amazing, wouldn’t it? You know, what a venue, what an atmosphere it would be. Of course, you know, these are the dreams. There’s loads of massive fights out there. I’m in that position now where I’ve built my name, I’ve built what I’ve got to now. So I’ve just got to stay chipping away, keep my feet on the ground and let my manager, my promoter, deal with everything else and I’ve just got to keep winning.”
