Kurt Walker hasn’t been the underdog many times during his boxing career.

The Irish featherweight was the type of star amateur whose reputation alone could earn him a bye through tournaments.

Walker claimed medals at a host of major international championships and boxed at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games before hanging up his vest.

This weekend, Walker (12-0, 2 KOs) will step into the ring as an underdog for the first time as a professional when he fights Liam Davies (16-1, 8 KOs), a former British, European and IBO super bantamweight champion, at Nottingham Arena.

Being the outsider may not be a familiar feeling for Walker, but it is a situation that has always brought out the best in him.

“Whenever it did happen in the amateurs, I was winning them so I kind of did enjoy it,” the 30 year-old told The Ring.

“With the Olympics and the European Championships, I was probably the underdog to win and to even do stuff like that in the first place but it was happening and that's kind of why I like it now.”

Based solely on amateur experience, Walker would start as a significant favourite over Davies, who has battled his way up from the smallest of small halls. It can take time for a top amateur to find their feet as a professional.

After spending years fighting tooth and nail against opponents who are willing to do everything in their power to beat them, they are suddenly matched with a series of gnarled veterans who are solely intent on lasting the distance and making it safely to their next payday.

Walker trudged his way through that frustrating period of his career, and the first sign that things were starting to click came in March 2024 when he dismantled the respected James Beech in seven rounds.

After a 12-month layoff, Walker returned to action earlier this year and produced easily the most well-rounded display of his career to outbox and outfight Lyon Woodstock over 10 rounds.

As his level of opposition has improved, so too has Walker’s level of performance.

“For a while there, you're expected to win and even though you're fighting journeymen for your first 10 fights, there's still pressure because anything can happen,” he said.

“It's looking good that’s the problem. They know how to make you not look good so it is hard, but it's good for development and you're learning every fight. It needs to be done.

“With Lyon, I didn't have much time [to get ready]. Six weeks after Christmas isn't a lot of time but I wanted the fight. It was in Belfast and I wasn't going to say no to it.

“I fought in a completely different style than what I’d usually fight in just to make it a wee bit more exciting. I could have probably boxed for 10 rounds and made it boring but I didn't want to do that.

“Because of the amateurs, people just think of me as a boxer but I can fight like that. I can get rough, I'm fit and I can go.

“But it was just more to make it a wee bit more exciting. I enjoyed it though, I really did enjoy it.”

The aggressive Woodstock is the type of relentlessly optimistic fighter who could force even the most ardent pacifist to hold their feet but that Walker volunteered to trade punches is the clearest sign yet that he believes he has what it takes to succeed as a pro.

That type of confidence doesn’t come from a single eye-catching performance.

Walker will have turned over with total belief in his technical ability, but even the very best amateurs have to earn the right to utilise their skills.

It has taken time studying how the likes of Josh Kelly, Harlem Eubank and David Adeleye go about their business and a much-needed step up in opposition, but Walker has figured what it will take if he is to successfully transfer his amateur expertise.

“The mindset definitely changes, but I think what helped me the most is the gym I'm in,” he said.

"The New Era Boxing Gym is massive. The people in it - people who have done stuff - and the experience around it, the different type of camps you do whenever you actually get the big fights.

“I think it’s helped me massively to be in a gym like that and to be pushed like that. I train the way I never thought I would train in my life.

“I'm taking things seriously for this fight with nutrition. I've took it up another level. I took a week off [after Woodstock] and I came back straight away. I've never done that in my life so I'll be in the best shape of my life.”

He will need to be.

Davies cut a swathe through the British super bantamweight scene and a destructive second-round knockout of solid Mexican Erik Robles Ayala moved him to the fringes of world level.

In November, Shabaz Masoud’s quick feet and smart, cool punch-picking brought his run to a shuddering halt.

Walker is set to find out whether Davies’ lacklustre performance was due to the heavy toll of boiling his tall angular frame down to 122lbs or whether it was simply a case of him hitting a very hard ceiling.

This weekend’s fight is an acid test for both men.

Davies can fight but needs to prove that he can track down and trap a skilful mover. Walker can box but needs to show that he has the resilience to implement his attributes against a fiercely determined puncher.

“I think he's a good fighter. He's obviously heavy-handed,” Walker said of Davies.

“I think with Masoud, he was maybe too emotionally attached to it. Masoud's a brilliant boxer. He can make you look stupid any way he wants to. I rate him. I think he's very good. His boxing skills are very high, but I'm not Masoud.

“People probably see me boxing in a similar way as Masoud, but I'm a completely different fighter.

“I'm taking this fight very seriously. Like I said, I'm probably the underdog - which I like - but I think it's my time now to come up."