Liam Davies has a way with words.
“I’m quite good at saying things at certain times. I remember the night I fought Jason Cunningham. I went out with my brother to watch Owen Cooper. George [Warren, from Queensberry Promotions] came out and sat down next to me,” Davies remembered. “He was saying, ‘Big one tonight, are you ready?’ I said, ‘Never mind tonight. After tonight when I do him I want big money and I want this and I want that.’ He was saying that I had a big one in an hour. I told him to trust me. He came in the dressing room afterwards and I said, ‘I told you so.’ Really, you don’t even know yourself but you tell them what they want to hear.”
That night, Davies, 16-0 (8 KOs), stopped Cunningham inside a round to add the European super bantamweight title to his British belt and cement himself as one of the brightest prospects in British boxing.
He went onto defend the title against Italy’s Vincenzo Le Femina and in March he scored a blistering second round stoppage of Mexico’s Erik Ayala Robles.
Words are one thing but Davies has proven time and time again that he can back them up.
Davies is back in training after illness forced him to withdraw from a fight against undefeated British rival, Shabaz Masoud, 13-0 (4 KOs), last month. The contest looks like being rescheduled for November 2 but the setback brought a disappointing end to an outstanding run of form. Two years ago, Davies was an interesting and improving member of a busy and young domestic super bantamweight scene. Now, he stands alone at the head of the 122lb division.
Fighters like Davies who have had to battle and scrap their way up from the very bottom hate withdrawing from fights. Whether they are simply desperate not to lose a payday or worried that somebody new will take their place whilst on the sidelines, fighters who spent years laying carpets tend to take more risks than those who have walked along red ones.
Having to let a fight slip away didn’t sit well with Davies but he and his team know that business is beginning to get extremely serious. The 28-year-old from Donington still needed to have his arm twisted slightly before accepting that he needed to withdraw but, these days, he feels secure enough to make the sensible decision.
“I just got badly ill. There’s no point in going into it too much but it affected my training. It was one of those where it was out of my power. It was shit either way but, looking back now it was definitely the right thing to do,” he said.
“My dad and my manager said, ‘Look, we’ve got here. You aren’t going to be 100 per cent every time but just how low do you go before you call it?” I kept saying, ‘One more day, one more day’ and soon you’ve missed two and a half weeks. It’s a big change isn’t it?
“I’ve worked to get here. You only get one go at it, try and do it right. I just pray to God that it never happens again. It’s depressing.
“Money isn’t the be all and end all but I spent a lot of money taking my team to Tenerife and to Italy to train. I put so much time and effort into camp and then that happens. It’s a bit of a kick in the teeth. People don’t see that. They just think you’ve been eating a bit of fruit and doing a few runs. They don’t understand that. They’re quite lucky they don’t.
“I was gutted but as time goes on, you accept it and push on for better. I’ve had a good start to the year and I’ll make sure I have a great end to it. I’ll have two fights – I could have had three – and I’m back to myself and looking forward to carrying on this journey that we started from the bottom. We’re nearly at the top now.”
There is no failsafe way to rank boxers. Sanctioning bodies are prone to their own – let’s be polite – peculiarities, and whether you take BoxRec at face value or have spent time trying to make sense of the logarithms and formulas that control their ratings, it still throws up some truly unfathomable outcomes.
By whichever metric you choose to look at, Davies is climbing steadily towards the top of the 122lb division and a shot at pound for pound superstar and unified champion, Naoya Inoue.
“If BoxRec have me at number one I think they’re unreal. If they don’t, I think it’s a load of shit,” Davies said. “Every boxer has a love-hate relationship with BoxRec.
“TJ Doheny was one or two above me and he just got the Inoue shot. I feel like I’d have given him better fight that TJ Doheny. I tried to fight him before and he out-priced himself. He probably knew he was getting this one. I don’t blame him to be honest.”
Doheny’s popularity in Japan has helped him secure a shot at Inoue. The former IBF champion will fight the multi weight world champion in Tokyo on September 3.
At one point, it looked like the unbeaten Sam Goodman, 19-0 (8 KOs), may get the call.
The Australian is the number one contender for Inoue’s WBO and IBF belts but even before he damaged his hand during his victory over Chainoi Worawut last month, Goodman and his team consistently stated their intention to work to their own schedule and refuse to be rushed into a fight with Inoue.
It isn’t an approach Davies understands.
“I don’t get that. There are some weird people in boxing aren’t there?” Davies said. “That fight to me, I see that as my shot at trying to become The Man. The only way you win them is by having the balls to turn up. You do that and, OK, you’re not the favourite, but it’s a two horse race this boxing malarkey and if you can punch, you’re always in with a chance.
“In my head, I just look at it like, ‘Imagine I go in and do Inoue.’ Everything’s possible. I get there are slim chances because he’s the best but I’ve got a chance for as long as I’m in there, me.”
In May, Inoue momentarily looked more like a human than a monster when he was dropped for the very first time in his career by Mexico’s Luis Nery. The site of Inoue on the canvas registered with Davies who believes he is a big single shot puncher than Nery.
“One hundr…,” he starts before cutting himself off with a sense of incredulity. “Well, what do you reckon? He’s like a wear you down type. Of course that gives you even more confidence.
“Sam Goodman’s obviously good but I don’t see him beating me. I don’t see, in a year, him beating Inoue. That’s what I’m saying. Why wait till then? Just do it now.
“I’d have fought Goodman. I just want the trip to Australia, really. I want a trip, man. They’re good memories aren’t they? Maybe the Dennis McCann fight in Saudi next. See if they can do that now he’s got a few wins and got confident.”
Davies is fully into his groove now. McCann’s name is added to the list which already includes TJ Doheny, Sam Goodman, Shabaz Masoud and Naoya Inoue. There was also time for a quick story about some very informal probing about a fight in Japan with John Riel Casimero.
The names may sound like they are thrown out in scatter-gun style but they are never accompanied by a string of qualifying conditions or a list of demands. Davies knows he is the best super bantamweight in Europe and one of the most talented in the world but still talks like a challenger.
Having got this far, Davies isn’t going to work for free but neither is he going to let his moment pass him by.
Masoud – who’s two victories over Davies in the amateurs are a major source of motivation – remains his primary focus but should he get past the 28 year-old, the high profile and improving McCann seems to stoke up some excitement in Davies.
McCann is the current holder of the same British and European super bantamweight titles that Davies used to build his own name. The 23-year-old is a step behind Davies at the moment but with one more big win a fight between the two would be big business in Britain and the winner would be fully deserving of a major opportunity.
“I keep asking if we’re any closer to making that fight because it’s a big one. It’s always appealing for me because I know what he brings without bringing anything in the rankings. Everyone thinks he’s the man, don’t they? I see it as a kind of George Groves-James DeGale fight. They keep talking about doing it for a world title but I think we could just do it for the IBO Fearless Liam Davies outlines his plans to conquer the world. Even though it’s not a proper one, I’d just do it for that.
“I had this conversation with my dad and, other than Inoue, at the minute I may as well fight these British guys. Everybody’s good but it’s better than fighting ten Robles’ while I wait for a chance.
“I’m going to box Shabaz. He’s a good boxer. He’s not the biggest puncher. It’s the same with McCann. For me, they’re the two perfect fights to tick over with and see what Inoue does.”
Still, Davies finds time to throw out more names.
“Then maybe move up and fight Nick Ball. I don’t know, something big.”
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