Liam Davies vs Shabaz Masoud – Who wins the battle of the unbeaten super-bantams?
IBO World super-bantamweight champion Liam Davies (16-0, 8KO) defends his title to fellow unbeaten Brit Shabaz Masoud (13-0, 4KO) on Saturday, November 2, in Birmingham, live on TNT Sports.
Davies-Masoud was pushed back from July after the champion suffered from an illness, so this fight has been a long time in the making.
BBN asked their trusted panel of boxing experts for their view on this brilliant all-British battle.
Wayne Alexander, Former British, European, World champion
“It’s always good to see two young talents putting their unbeaten records on the line in a domestic dust-up.
“In this contest, you have two evenly matched fighters both hungry for success and to get into the world class mix; Liam Davies has good skills and can punch a bit, Masoud also has good skills, ‘he can switch hit’, but is a little less experienced.
“This is a real pick ’em fight and it will come down to who wants it more on the day. I’m going with Davies to win by a close, maybe controversial, split points decision ”
Koby McNamara, Featherweight prospect
”“I have it as a Liam Davies stoppage late on, ninth round onwards.
“Shabaz is very sharp but when Davies applies the pressure and power later on in the fight, I think he will be too much for him.”
Tim Rickson, BBN Editor
“Super-bantamweight is such an exciting division right now, with Naoya Inoue reigning as the undisputed champion.
“We’ve got Davies-Masoud and Dennis McCann-Peter McGrail – four of the best 122-pounders in the UK all fighting each other, which is a great advert for British boxing.
“Masoud is so sharp and skilful, can switch-hit, great from range, but Davis is powerful and experienced, and in the form of his life right now. That confidence will likely show in this contest. Davies is a fighter that is just getting better and better with each passing fight. He’s gone from British, to European, to World.
“He can fight a number of ways – close, mid, long; front foot, back foot – and he can bang too! He’s registered three early knockouts in a row, all against decent competition in Jason Cunningham (TKO-1): 13-0 La Femina (TKO-5); and Erik Robles (TKO-2), taking just eights rounds to win from scheduled 36.
“That devastating form and confidence is why I’m edging toward the champion, Davies, to win an incredibly close decision, probably on a split or a mixed.”
Jamie Arlain, British Challenge champion
“For me, I have to go for Liam Davis on a late stoppage. I just think he has been in some great fights and is a great fighter, one of my favourite British fighters at the moment.”
Burim Sylejmani, Promoter at Fides Sports Promotion
“A great fight, both boxers are undefeated.
“Boxing needs duels like this. I see Liam Davies in front and I think he will win this fight.”
Harrison Baskind, BBN Writer
“Someone’s 0 has got to go. This is a great all-British title fight between two top 122 pounders.
“I expect Davies’ experience of being in with better fighters to pay off. Moreover, with three TKO’s in as many performances, he could even stop his opponent.
“Masoud has shown he can box well, however I expect this challenge to be too big for him. He only just edged past Jose Sanmartin a couple of fights ago and this calibre of fighter is much lower than Davies.
“I am backing Davies to keep up his knockout streak and set up future domestic fights against the likes of McCann and McGrail.”
Sam Condy, BBN Writer
“What a fight we have this weekend. Both men have shown all the promise and ability of being able to rise up and fight at the world level.
“Masoud is a tricky fighter, quick and accurate with his punches. However, Davies as more experience against top opposition, and has the power to disrupt Masoud’s flow.
“Masoud’s best win comes from a close decision win over Jose Sanmartin. While Sanmartin is a tough test for any prospect, he’s far from the level of Davies.
“I think a fight of this difficulty is coming slightly too early in Masoud’s career. Davies’ know-how should carry him to a late stoppage or decision win on Saturday.”
Bogdan Musat, Matchmaker
“I will go with Davies, TKO round 4.”