George Liddard to challenge Michel Soro for IBO title in Monaco

George Liddard will challenge Michel Soro for the IBO middleweight title at the Salle des Étoiles in Monte Carlo on December 12, 2026.

The contest will headline Matchroom Boxing’s Monte-Carlo Showdown VII and be streamed worldwide on DAZN.

Liddard, 15-0 with nine stoppages, will be attempting to add the IBO belt to the British, Commonwealth and European titles he has collected during a productive rise through the middleweight division.

The 24-year-old from Billericay stopped Kieron Conway in the 10th round at York Hall in October 2025 to win the British and Commonwealth titles. He retained both with a unanimous decision over Tyler Denny at the Copper Box Arena in March before returning to the same venue on August 22, when Dario Morello retired after eight rounds of their fight for the vacant European title.

Liddard, trained by Tony Sims and ranked in The Ring’s top 10, also recorded victories over Aaron Sutton and Derrick Osaze during 2025.

“These are the fights I have looked forward to throughout my career,” Liddard said. “I am putting everything on the line in such a prestigious place. This is ‘The Monaco Job’, and I’m coming back home to Britain with the win and that IBO strap.”

Soro’s long road through the title picture

Soro, 39-4-2 with 28 stoppages, won the vacant IBO title by stopping Hassan Mwakinyo in the ninth round in Abidjan in June. It was the 38-year-old’s first professional appearance in Ivory Coast, where he was born before being raised in France, and extended his winning run to four fights.

The experienced champion has spent much of his 17-year professional career competing around title level at super-welterweight and middleweight. His first challenge for a belt from one of the four major sanctioning bodies ended in a points defeat by WBO champion Zaurbek Baysangurov in Ukraine in May 2012.

Soro later drew with Antoine Douglas, stopped Glen Tapia and defeated Emanuele Blandamura for the European middleweight title in 2015. He challenged Brian Castaño for the interim WBA super-welterweight belt in France in July 2017, losing a split decision. Two judges scored the fight 115-113 for Castaño, while the third had Soro winning 116-112.

His pursuit of another opportunity was complicated by two inconclusive meetings with Israil Madrimov. Their WBA eliminator in Uzbekistan in December 2021 ended in a ninth-round stoppage defeat for Soro after Madrimov continued punching beyond a bell the referee had not heard.

The WBA ordered an immediate rematch, but the return in London in July 2022 ended as a second-round technical draw after an accidental clash of heads cut Soro above his left eye. Soro then lost another split decision, this time against the unbeaten Magomed Kurbanov in Russia in May 2023.

Padley-Gholam joins Monaco card

Josh Padley will face Spain’s Moussa Gholam for the interim WBA super-featherweight title on the undercard. Yorkshire rivals Ishmael Davis and Junaid Bostan will also meet in an all-British contest, while heavyweights David Adeleye and Leo Atang are scheduled to appear against opponents yet to be announced.

Adeleye is set for a quick turnaround after his Matchroom debut in Los Angeles on November 14. Atang, 19, is due to fight in Sheffield on October 24 before making his third appearance overseas. He has previously boxed in Ghana and stopped Glen Williams in the second round of his US debut in July.

“George Liddard has a golden opportunity to etch his name into history when he takes on a very tough Michel Soro for the IBO crown,” promoter Eddie Hearn said. “Josh Padley has enjoyed a remarkable rise too, and he now faces a career-defining night as he fights for an Interim World Title.”

The event, staged in partnership with Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, is scheduled for one day after the Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury fight in Cardiff. Opponents for Adeleye and Atang, as well as the full fight-week schedule, have yet to be confirmed.