Davies charts a path to world domination

Liam Davies…gearing-up for a mega-fight in Telford

IN the heart of a concrete grey council estate, in a gym above a social club that still carries the stale perfume of last night’s lager, Liam Davies hammers a fast, steady and hypnotic beat on pads that Ginger Baker would’ve been proud of.

Big fight night is approaching and Davies – darling of non-nonsense suburb Donnington – is counting down the seconds with every combination hurled at bags and pads, with every dull strike of the speedball.

Bullet beads of sweat form on his brow, his blue training top is darkened with perspiration.

On April 29, at Telford International Centre, Davies puts his British and European super-bantamweight belts on the line against former champ Jason Cunningham.

It is a major fight and the waiting time will be dissected into minutes and numbers. Three minutes on the bag, six miles pounding the road, eight rounds sparring…

Davies, a former outstanding amateur now on a 14 fight winning run as a pro, is already honing his long, lean body for the task ahead.

Davies’ hands are a blur as he works with dad Tristan

For the 26-year-old, boxing is about community and family. It will always be about community and family, he stressed.

In a sport crammed with working class heroes, Davies is the ultimate “local lad done good”.

“I’m still the same lad,” he said. “I like what I am and I liked what I was before the boxing success. I still want to live in my house, with my wife and my little dogs.”

Looking me in the eye, he insisted: “I’m not a superstar, I’m a lad from Donnington.

“My life hasn’t changed, really. I’m still around the same people – that’s how it all started, that’s how it will finish. I’m a lad from a Donnington council estate chasing the dream.”

For Davies, part of a fighting dynasty, boxing is family. Dad and trainer Tristan was a pro and former 100 fight international amateur; Grandad Brian, sadly no longer with us, founded and steered Donnington ABC, a sweatshop that produced a steady stream of champs.

“My grandad was a big, big boxing fan and he always said one day I’d make it,” Davies said. “It’s just a pity he wasn’t here to see it.”

He’s warming to celebrity status and life under the media spotlight: “My interviews used to be full of ‘mmmms’,” he laughed. “I’m more confident now, I know the questions that are coming and always answer them truthfully.

“Being in the public eye can be difficult. No one sees me cry, sees me tired. I’ve lost family members. Life is tough and chasing the dream doesn’t make it easier.”

To date, Davies has near coasted his way through the pro ranks. Last June, the bookies made him a comprehensive underdog in the British title fight with Marc Leach. He made a mockery of the odds, dropping Leach in the first before taking a wide points decision.

Some felt November’s clash with dangerous Ionut Baluta – a Romanian who has made a habit of beating Britain’s best – was a step too far. Davies dished out a lesson in the noble art.

Now Cunningham, tough and tricky, awaits Davies’ repertoire of ring tricks. If he’s beaten, a world title fight is within touching distance.

“I was chasing him when he won the European title, he should’ve taken the fight then,” said Davies. “I’m looking to win in spectacular fashion, then next year, maybe a world title – if it comes, it comes. It’s one fight at a time and Cunningham is the one I’ve got to do a job on.

“I’m big, I’m strong, I have a good boxing IQ – I think I showed that in 2022.

“Making the weight is never easy, but it’s about doing it at the right time, not ballooning up between fights and staying in the gym.

“I have a nutritionist now, which is a massive help. He plans the meals, my wife-to-be cooks them. I’m big enough for featherweight and believe I’ll win a British and European at feather, but at the moment making super-bantam isn’t taking too much out of me.

“I want a world title, I want to beat the best. There’s no specific opponent on my radar, I just want the title.”

Dad Tristan said: “Cunningham can be tricky, it’s about boxing him early, stepping it up later on. Three or four fights, then a world title, but one fight at a time.

“Winning a world title is the dream. Going to America and fighting for a world title would be the icing on the cake. Liam is improving all the time. Now he knows what the prize is and the prize is getting bigger with each fight.”