Liam Davies continues to impress at super-bantamweight after landing a sensational first-round stoppage of Jason Cunningham in Telford.
Dubbed a 50-50 fight heading into the bout, the 27 year old put in a career best performance in front of a raucous home crowd to defend his British and European titles at 122lbs.
The opening bell saw the champion immediately assume position in the centre of the ring behind his jab with Cunningham on the back foot.
Davies fired straight rights towards the challenger as he looked to gain an early foothold while Cunningham continued to move around the outside.
The breakthrough came with a minute remaining in the opening round as a pinpoint right rocked the chin of the Doncaster man, stiffening his legs in the process.
Davies sensed the opportunity to end the night early and set about his opponent, winging hooks to head and body.
Cunningham looked to hold but couldn’t evade the oncoming onslaught and instead turned his back before referee Victor Loughlin began administering a count.
The restart saw a right uppercut rock Cunningham again before more a left hook and several rights whipped his back against the ropes.
He again looked to fight back but could do nothing to halt Davies’ momentum before referee Loughlin rightly waved the bout off with 15 seconds remaining in the round.
Just 14 fights into his career, Davies already holds wins over Marc Leach, Ionut Baluta and now Cunningham, collecting the British and European titles in the process.
The Midlander has made a fortress for himself in Telford and Davies insists he wants to bring even bigger nights to his hometown in the future.
“I feel like I’ve got better as times gone on”, Davies told TNT Sports post-fight.
“I’ve dedicated my life to boxing, I’ve boxed all my life and now I’m reaping the rewards.
“To me this ain’t enough. I want more, I wanna bring a world title to Telford. I know that’s hard to do at the minute so I’m gonna keep ticking over, defend my other belts and maybe the [Dennis] McCann fight if it’s there. Whatever’s next, it will come.”
McCann, who himself faces the aforementioned Baluta on 18th August, is also undefeated and is apart of the Queensberry Promotions stable alongside Davies.
The latter improved his record to 14-0 with his sixth win inside the distance.
Cunningham meanwhile moved to 32-8 with his third stoppage defeat and has enjoyed a glittering professional career where he picked up British, Commonwealth and European titles.
The Undercard:
Kent heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma moved to 4-0 after a six-round points victory over Argentina’s Kevin Espindola.
The latter looked to frustrate Itauma with a reluctance to engage but provided the 18 year old with six valuable rounds as his development continues in the paid ranks.
Northampton welterweight Eithan James also defeated Wigan’s James Moorcroft via unanimous decision over ten rounds, while Bartley’s Amaar Akbar landed his first stoppage as he dropped and stopped Bulgarian Georgi Velichkov inside six at super-lightweight.
Worcester welterweight Owen Cooper defeated a game Robin Zamora of Nicaragua on points over eight entertaining rounds, and London super-welterweight Ben Fail halted Yorkshire’s Serge Ambomo in six.
Ilkeston super-welterweight Jim Smith was awarded all four rounds against Poland’s Lukasz Barabasz in a fight more competitive than the scorecard suggested, while Birmingham heavyweight Boma Brown forced Jake Darnell to retire after two rounds in his second outing.
Thanks for reading and watching, hope you come back soon. Please Follow us on Social Media for updatesโฆ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/britishboxers_bbtv
Twitter: https://twitter.com/britishboxers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/britishboxers
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/britishboxersuk
boxing #britishboxing
