Liam Davies and Shabaz Masoud finally get to settle their differences in a cracking super bantamweight contest in Birmingham on Saturday night, live on TNT.
There is much more than the lightly-regarded IBO title on the line here, with a real grudge between the pair as Davies bids to avenge a pair of defeats to Masoud in the amateurs.
Those two clashes in the unpaid ranks may have been a long time ago, but the rivalry still burns bright and, with both men unbeaten as professionals, the winner is expected to push on for a crack at real world honours in the not-too-distant future.
Despite Masoud being unbeaten in 13 (four early) fights and holding those two wins in a vest over his opponent, the 28-year-old is an 11/4 underdog here because all the momentum is with Davies. A 1/3 shot to take his record to 17-0, Davies has to be one of the most improved British fighters of the last couple of years and he arrives in red-hot form.
After upsetting the odds with a unanimous decision victory over Marc Leach, the Telford man repeated the dose against the tricky Ionut Baluta and then came a fantastic run of three early stoppage wins. Davies took less than a total of eight rounds to dispatch of tough domestic rival Jason Cunningham (TKO1), unbeaten Italian Vincenzo La Femina (TKO5) and dangerous Mexican Erik Robles Ayala (TKO2).
Also 28, Davies has really found his punching power now and, added to his big frame and sound fundamentals, he has developed into a formidable boxer-puncher at 122lb.
Masoud is a slick, switch-hitter who moves well and possesses good speed. His route to victory is no secret, as he will look to outbox his man and keep this at range by utilising his nifty footwork to keep turning his man.
However, that is easier said than done against Davies, who is big, tall and long for the weight. The favourite is aggressive from the get-go and is very dangerous at mid-to-long range, as he whips in his long levers with mean intentions.
The question here is whether Masoud can keep Davies off for 12 rounds and box his way to a points victory (11/2), but I don’t believe he will. The dimensions of the favourite make it a tough night’s work for the underdog, and I fancy Davies to catch up with him at some point to register another stoppage victory, which looks fair enough value at evens.
As well as being stylistically tricky for Masoud, Davies has also mixed in better company and brings a more impressive CV to the table. Masoud backers will be hoping their man boxing predominantly from a southpaw stance could cause the favourite issues, but two of Davies’ biggest performances came against ‘lefties’ in the shape of Leach and Cunningham.
Another worry for Masoud fans must be his performance against Jose Sanmartin 12 months ago, when he struggled to keep the pressure-fighting Colombian at bay and narrowly escaped with a split decision victory. Masoud spent too much time on the ropes and in the corners that night, which is something he is likely to be punished for by Davies.
Masoud is talented and may have his moments, but I expect the bang in form Davies to catch up with him and halt the underdog.
On her second outing since signing with Queensberry Promotions, Chantelle Cameron bids to get back into title contention against Patricia Berghult.
Cameron bounced back from her defeat in the Katie Taylor rematch with a decision victory and a similar fate beckons here, but that outcome is only 1/4.
The unbeaten Ben Vaughan steps up in class to take on former British and Commonwealth champion Ekow Essuman in an interesting welterweight bout. The latter’s experience could help him navigate his way to a points success but, at just 6/4, I am happy to let that one pass.
Posted at 1110 BST on 25/10/24