George Liddard vs Dario Morello fight preview, bettings odds, prediction

George Liddard vs Dario Morello full fight details

Undefeated Brit George Liddard (14-0, 8 KOs) takes the natural step up to the European middleweight title on Saturday, August 22 at the Copper Box Arena, London against Italian "Spartan" Dario Morello (26-1, 4 KOs), live on DAZN.

Fight preview

33 from Italy, Morello has won 26 from 27 pro bouts, which followed from a successful 87-bout amateur career that ended with the record of 58-27-2.

After following his amateur boxing father to the gym at the age of only four, he caught the boxing bug and begun his amateur career 10 years later. In 2009, he won gold at the Italian Junior Championships then won international bronze at tournaments in Hungary and a silver in Croatia.

He turned pro in 2015 and raced to 15-0, winning and defending the Italian welterweight title. In his 15th contest, in June 2019, he claimed the WBO Global welterweight strap, but then lost it in his first and only defeat three months on.

Since his sole career defeat to Luther Clay, "The Spartan" has won 11 in a row, unbeaten in almost seven years now, and collected three belts - the WBC Mediterranean, Italian, and EBU Silver middleweight titles.

Billericay boxer, George Liddard, is just 24-years-old still and has already won British, Commonwealth and IBF Inter-Continental middleweight titles.

Aged 23 at the time, Liddard became the youngest British and Commonwealth middleweight titleholder in history.

As ana amateur, he won four national titles and gold at two international tournaments. He has carried that illustriousness into the paid ranks.

He turned pro in 2022 and won his first three fights by knockout. In his last two fights, he has stopped Kieron Conway in the 10th round to win the Lonsdale belt, then he defended it against former European titlist Tyler Denny via unanimous decision - 116-112 x3.

Now, the European title is the natural progression, but the youngster has a very seasoned opponent standing in his way.

Bettings odds

2/15 George Liddard

7/1 Dario Morello

20/1 Draw

Prediction

Liddard hasn't put a foot wrong yet, and although this is a step up for him, it's the natural progression from British and Commonwealth level. He's still young and has an older, vaster experienced opponent in front of him, but he's fresh, confident, and backed by thousands of partisan fans on fight night.

Liddard to win, likely by unanimous decision.

DID YOU KNOW? During a 2010 tournament in Ukraine, 16-year-old Dario Morello staged a dramatic comeback, after trailing 1-7 in the first round, causing a Ukrainian spectator to liken his resilience and triumph to the Spartans, forever earning him the nickname "Spartan."