Years of rivalry will come to a head on Saturday night when super bantamweight rivals Liam Davies and Shabaz Masoud meet at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena.
The pair have been tied together since their amateur days. Masoud won both of their unpaid meetings but a professional clash always seemed inevitable. Since they agreed to fight earlier this year, there have been delays, arguments and hostility.
Officially, Davies’ IBO title is on the line but this is a fight which doesn’t need a title attached to it. The two fighters seem solely focused on each other and on bringing their long running feud to a conclusive finish.
The way the fighters conduct themselves outside of the ring perfectly matches the way they approach their business inside it. Davies, 16-0 (8 KOs), is a confident, fiery character who isn’t afraid of getting involved in conflict. Masoud, 13-0 (4 KOs), likes to keep a cool head and go about his business calmly.
The 28-year-old has refrained from getting too involved during the various media set pieces to promote the fight and is pleased that the talking is now over.
“It’s been a nice build-up. To be honest, the build-up to fights never get to me. I’m just focused on the job and all I care about is Saturday,” Masoud said on Thursday.
“What’s the point? Regardless of getting involved with the crowd or all these other antics, regardless of the situation, we’re fighting on Saturday. I’ve focused on the job for the past six months.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t need nobody. I can do it on my own. On Saturday, it’s going to be me and him, man.”
Davies has been on a tear recently. He has streaked through the junior featherweight division, collecting British and European titles and climbing the world rankings. In March, he looked better than ever when blowing away the respected Mexican, Erik Ayala, inside two rounds. He has warned people not to be surprised if Masoud goes the same way.
Masoud has turned in one or two inconsistent performances but he has yet to show any serious weaknesses regarding his durability or ability to take a shot. He has no idea what Davies has seen to lead him to draw such a conclusion but isn’t paying it too much mind. Instead, he is focused on capitalizing on the flaws he has noticed in Davies’ style and making a real name for himself this weekend.
“I don’t know what it is but that doesn’t bother me. I’ve heard it before, people saying I’m going to do this to you or do that to you. We’ll see on Saturday,” he said.
“Being doubted brings out the best in me. That’s the one thing I love about this fight. When I do beat him, everyone is giving me my respect.
“My whole life, people have thought, ‘He ain’t gonna do this. He ain’t gonna do that.’ Guess what? I went and done it.
“The main focus for me is to beat him on Saturday. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good fighter and he’s got a lot of strengths but he’s got weaknesses as well in his game and I’m gonna exploit them.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79