Liam Davies vows to fight back after first boxing defeat
Liam Davies has vowed to come back stronger after losing his world title with his first ever professional defeat.
The Telford boxer put his IBO super-bantamweight on the line against Shabaz Masoud in Birmingham on Saturday night, losing a split decision in a fiercely fought contest.
Masoud, the quicker and sharper fighter on the night, caused Davies problems with his southpaw left hand and cut Davies in the fourth round.
Davies fought valiantly, however, as he attempted to make his power advantage count in the final rounds.
The Telford scrapper was given the win by one judge with a scorecard of 115-113, but two cards of 116-112 and 115-113 in favour of Masoud handed Davies his first loss.
“The cut didn't help me at all," Davies said.
"It's Shabaz's night, he's done it, and I want him to enjoy his moment.
"I'll be back. I'll take it on the chin. My life's good. I'm happy and healthy. This won't be the end of me. I'm 28 years old I will be back.”
Davies, from Donnington Boxing Club, now holds a record of 16-1, while Masoud boasts an undefeated 14-0 record.
Stoke-born Masoud honed his craft at rivals Wellington Boxing Academy and had previously beaten Davies at amateur level.
And the 28-year-old left the ring on good terms with Davies.
“I said to Liam, we’ll meet up, we’ll go for some food and get the two gyms together," Masoud said.
"At the end of the day, it’s all about community. The amateur gyms, the grass roots. It’s about getting everyone together. That’s what we need to do.”
On the undercard, Davies' brother Bradley Thompson put in a punch-perfect four rounds to beat durable opponent Sean Jackson, with a 40-36 shutout on referee Chris Dean's scorecard.
It is the second swift win of the year for Thompson, after more than two years out of the ring, taking his unbeaten record to 6-0.
The flyweight got into his rhythm early, mixing shots to both the body and head of Jackson.
Thompson said: “It was good. He was awkward moved a lot and was hard to pin down, but that's what he's there to do.
"I had a lot of time out the ring, so I need to shake that ring rust off and go again. 2025, I'm coming for titles and marching on, I want to do the same as Liam and go through all the belts.”
Elsewhere on the card, Wolverhampton's Jermaine Osbourne-Edwards suffered the first defeat of his professional career, losing on points to Eithan James.
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