Junior featherweight Liam Davies and his undefeated partner Shabaz Masoud will face each other on Saturday at Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England.
Davies, ranked No. 5 by The Ring at junior featherweight, was scheduled to face his home rival in the summer only for those plans to be canceled due to the virus.
Now fully recovered, Davies intends to make a statement after the disagreement between the two camps.
“It’s fight number 17, the fight I deserve, another undefeated opponent and I’m very confident about winning,” Davies (16-0, 8 knockouts) told The Ring.
“I won’t say between me and Shabaz, it’s about the people he goes with and has already gone through. My head is done. Just texting each other. That’s the way they went and to me they’ve crossed the line. So poor Shabaz will have to take the punishment for it.”
However, that doesn’t mean Davies is oblivious to the potential danger he faces.
“Yeah, he’s good, I won’t discredit him if he wasn’t good,” said Davies. “He has not been defeated, he has beaten everyone who has been placed in front of him so far. I feel like this is his big step now. He will have to be better than what has been shown. He is a skilled, sharp boxer. I don’t think he is the strongest but there is only one way to find out.
“He has a good team behind him and good skills but at this level ticking one or two boxes is not enough, you have to have everything. Especially power, power and even batting, I don’t think he showed much power. He was abused by a Colombian, [Jose Sanmartin] I just saw him being beaten by an American [Elijah Pierce.] The boy fought back [Marvin Solano] when we wanted to fight we just got hit by Brad Strand, who I don’t believe is a great striker. But at night is the only way to find out.”
Interestingly and adding another layer of complexity to the proceedings, the two meet twice to learn from their youthful exploits.
“Yes, one of us was 13, 14 and the other was 17, a long time ago,” he recalled. “They tried to beat me, but he won by deciding to separate. I don’t know anyone who was beaten and lost a divorce decision, right? They speak profanity. It’s been a long time and it’s different to fight now. Everyone keeps asking me about it and it’s not important. The boy they fought at that time would not be in the position I am in now. A lot has changed. I hope he doesn’t hold back because he will be very shocked on November 2.”
The 28-year-old has won the British, Commonwealth and European titles and currently holds the lesser-known IBO (recognized by The Ring) title.
Davies feels ready to face the best not only in his division but in boxing as well.
“I want to go to Japan, that’s what I’m focused on. There is nothing else I can do at this stage, I have won everything, I gave up the titles to those who did not want to fight me,” he said, playing on par with the undefeated Dennis McCann, who has collected his old ones. articles. “After this fight unless there is something big in Saudi or Japan, maybe I will move up because I have won everything at this weight. The only thing I don’t have is a fight with Inoue.
“[The Ring and undisputed champion Naoya] Inoue is the best and I’ve done this since I was a young boy and I’m always determined to be the best, I can thank and thank you very much for my shooting and I just give everything. He’s a great champion but I just feel like I’m a good boxer, I hit hard and I hit myself hard even though people tell you you’re not, if you’ve done it all your life why do you want to shoot better.”
Although it is warned that he will increase the weight again if the fight does not come.
“I won’t wait forever, I’m on my way,” he said. “I feel like I have a good chance to win world titles at featherweight as well.
“I can go up and down. Where you fight and who you fight with is beyond my control. I am not asking questions of when, I am asking to get out as soon as possible. You get a punch, wait for me man, I’m writing my own story. I am ready this year and you are bound for wars. It doesn’t look very likely but you never know, Sam Goodman or someone pulls it off, I’ll be fine. For me, I beat [Inoue]I am the man.”
Masoud (13-0, 4 KOs) turned professional in 2018. The Englishman first came down the hall way before showing strength and fighting in Matchroom and later Queensberry Promotions. The 28-year-old slickster defeated undefeated Jack Bateson (TKO 12) and goalkeeper Jose Sanmartin (SD 10).
Davies-Masoud, along with undercard action, will be broadcast on TNT Sports at 7:00 pm GMT.
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].
