Having sparred multiple rounds with his upcoming opponent, Nathaniel Collins does not feel overly threatened by Liam Davies’ power at 126lbs.
Neither fighter is necessarily regarded as a knockout specialist but, with four of Davies’ last five wins ending inside the distance, many would describe him as the marginally bigger puncher.
That said, Collins does not envision the Donnington man posing a threat to his chin when they collide in Birmingham this Saturday.
The Scotsman does, however, agree with the general perception that this is a 50/50 encounter for the European title, with both 30-year-olds having reached fringe-world level in 19 professional bouts.
Speaking to Boxing News, Collins also made the suggestion that, based on their sparring sessions in 2023 and 2024, the power of Davies has been somewhat overstated.
“I think [the familiarity through sparring is] a benefit to us both – we’ve felt each other’s power; we’ve felt each other’s pressure. But a fight’s totally different: there’s a lot more on the line, the gloves are smaller, there’s no headguards and no friendly stuff.
“I never felt much power in sparring but I do have a good chin, so maybe I don’t feel it the same as others. People always paint Liam out to be a big puncher but we’ve got similar knockout records. If they don’t think I’m a big puncher then that’s good for me.”
Coming off the first defeat of his pro career, against Cristobal Lorente, Collins is determined to produce a vastly improved performance.
Without looking to make excuses, the featherweight contender was hardly afforded the smoothest fight week and, with his daughter being born less than 24 hours before stepping through the ropes, it could not have been easy to remain fully focused on the task at hand.
Now, though, Collins feels as if a weight has been removed from his shoulders, even if others would consider this – an arguably must-win fight on enemy territory – to be the toughest challenge of his career.
“I felt more pressure when I was headlining in Scotland: pressure to sell tickets; pressure to put on a good show; pressure to put on a massive performance.
“It was also a world title eliminator [against Llorente], whereas I don’t feel that pressure this time. This is just another fight. Obviously, a loss is never good – and it would be two losses in a row if [he loses to Davies].
“But all I know is that I’ve put my heart and soul into this camp and, whatever happens, I’ve done everything I can to be the best [version of himself].”
To prepare himself for Davies, Collins has been sparring Ryan Garner in Southampton and, while the trip between there and Scotland cannot be fun, ‘The Nightmare’ is always willing to travel far and wide for top-class rounds.
“I really like Ryan and I think he’s a great fighter. People look at Ryan and think he’s just a powerhouse, but he’s a very underrated boxer. I think he’s one of the best fighters I could be preparing with.”
Believing he has left no stone unturned, Collins must now prove that his last performance was, indeed, a false representation of what he is truly capable of.
