Liam Davies exclusive: I always take the toughest fight
Somehow, Liam Davies is still one of British boxing’s best kept secrets.
Within the space of 15 fights, Davies has won the English, British and European super bantamweight titles and has also found time to add a whole host of ranking belts to his trophy cabinet.
“It’s about not making silly mistakes”
He has shown both fight ending power and the ability to box smartly and stick to a gameplan. And he has developed into one of the best talkers in British boxing.
The 27 year old from Donnington is well respected within the industry but receives a fraction of the media attention that plenty of far less accomplished fighters get. On Saturday, Davies fights the tough Erik Robles for the IBO world title on this weekend’s packed ‘Magnificent Seven’ show in Birmingham.
If he wins he will move closer to the top of the super bantamweight division and might even start grabbing some headlines. For all the latest fight odds, visit our sportsbook.
“I’m not really interested in fame and publicity but a big thing for me is principles. I see this as the biggest fight on March 16th,” Davies told 32Red. “It’ll certainly be the most entertaining fight. It doesn’t seem to be getting the recognition but I’m fighting a man who’s been sparring Naoya Inoue and had a good win over Lee McGregor. He’s a Mexican and they always bring it. I don’t shy away from things either.
“I’ll make sure everyone talks about this fight”
“It’s strange and I try not to worry about why it’s not getting much publicity. I’ll make sure everybody is talking about it after.”
The last time we saw Davies in the ring, he went looking for a shootout with Italian challenger Vincenzo La Femina and found one. Davies stopped the Italian in the fifth round of an exciting fight but also had to pick himself up off the floor after getting clipped in the third round.
Davies is a confident, aggressive fighter and isn’t going to change that approach anytime soon but the knockdown was a timely reminder that the challenges are about to get tougher and that there will be times when it pays to play the part of stealthy assassin rather than a cavalier gunslinger.
“It’s not just being more careful. It’s about not making silly mistakes and I seemed to make a lot in Manchester,” he said. “For me and my team, there were too many mistakes and bad habits came out. This one’s about being switched on and doing it cool and clever as I have in previous fights.
“Sometimes you can think you’re invincible”
“None of us are invincible. Sometimes in boxing you can think you are. It was a nice little reminder and definitely switched me on for this one. I’ve gone back to being clever and picking my moments instead of being gun happy.”
There will be moments during the fight with Robles when Davies has to meet fire with fire. The Mexican will start quickly and look to drag him into the same type of toe to toe battle he had with Lee McGregor last summer. The Scottish fighter chose to stand and trade with Robles and came up short but Davies believes he is a much more well rounded fighter and will be too smart, too fit and too switched on for Robles.
“He’ll come to fight but I just think that on my best day I beat them all. That’s how I’ve always rolled and I’m going to continue to. He’s probably coming over very confident as he beat McGregor but I just see myself as a different type of fighter. I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I think it’s the right fight to take. The belt is irrelevant but it’s the toughest fight and I always take the toughest one. It’ll put me in good stead for another big year.
“I think McGregor stayed there too much. He had points where he outboxed him well and he held his feet. I’m not sure it was his weight or just being tired from not being fit enough. The gameplan wasn’t right. Me and my people have that nailed every time. We’ll continue to do that every time. We’ll have a good game plan and come out victorious again. 16-0, and IBO world title added to the collection and a mega fight in my 17th fight.”
“I’m winning to get myself a big fight”
Robles should be the final obstacle between Davies and the big time. Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue holds all the major belts at super bantamweight but already has a fight with Mexico’s Luis Nery booked in for May. As long as the offer was right, Davies wouldn’t hesitate to board the plane to Japan for a shot at Inoue but he doesn’t want to wait around and would be willing to move up to featherweight for a big fight.
There are certain to be big opportunities around the corner if Davies can get past Robles and – who knows – he may even make up part of Queensberry’s team for the eagerly anticipated ‘Five vs Five’ showdown with Matchroom which takes place on June 1st.
“This puts me in a good position to maybe move up to featherweight and have a world title fight there if the Inoue fight doesn’t come. It gives me plenty more options. I’m not gonna win the title and look to defend it three or four times. I’m winning to get myself a big fight,” he said.
“This can give me family a better future. I can look after the people who’ve looked after me. This one is bigger than me. I don’t feel any more pressure. I would just say that I want it more. That was important. Defending my European title again didn’t really make sense and didn’t get me up for the idea. Things like knowing I can secure myself and get myself a house motivates me even more. I think this is the right time to do it and we’re not far away.”
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