WHILE his plate remains full, courtesy of a certain Caoimhin Agyarko, Ishmeal Davis hopes to eventually dish out two servings of revenge against Josh Kelly and Serhii Bohachuk.
The 30-year-old took both of those assignments on short notice, but nonetheless showed that, with a full training camp, the two blemishes on his record could have looked vastly different.
Against Kelly, 17-1-1 (9 KOs), ‘The Black Panther’ gave a particularly strong account of himself, only to then lose a razor-thin majority decision which, in fairness, offered a much closer verdict than what most had arrived at.
Yet still, if he had started their fight with a greater sense of urgency, rather than saving all of his gas for the final few rounds, then perhaps Davis, 13-2 (6 KOs), would have emerged victorious.
With just a few days’ preparation, though, it is hardly surprising that the Yorkshireman, competing out of his usual weight class, was wary of expending too much energy.
Naturally, he believes that a second encounter with Kelly, this time down at 154lbs and with ample notice, would tell a drastically different story.
“I believe I would’ve won the fight [with a full camp], and hopefully we can get that fight again in the future,” Davis, who had stepped in for an injured Liam Smith, told Boxing News.
“Josh Kelly is a lovely guy – we’re all just men trying to feed our family – so it’s not personal. But when it comes to boxing, we have to do it again.
“Even he knows. He said, ‘Look, when we get to the top, we’ll do it again.’ I’m sure all the fans and people around the world would want to see that again, so I look forward to it.”
Since suffering his first professional defeat last September, Davis has, interestingly enough, shared several rounds of sparring with Kelly, who now looks likely to face IBF world champion Bakhram Murtazaliev towards the end of this year.
In the meantime, Davis has an outing of his own, against Agyarko, which takes place on the undercard of Lewis Crocker vs Paddy Donovan 2 in just two weeks’ time.
Crucially, it represents the explosive technician’s first fight since December, back when he replaced Israil Madrimov – this time, affording himself around two weeks’ notice – before locking horns with Bohachuk, 26-2 (24 KOs).
On this occasion, however, the hard-hitting contender proved several steps too far for Davis, who admits that he was forced to contend with a glaring difference between Kelly and Bohachuk.
“I noticed a big difference, because they’re two totally different fighters,” Davis continued.
“Bohachuk’s always coming forward, throwing non-stop punches, so you have to be seriously fit [to beat him].
“Taking those sorts of fights on short notice are harder than taking on someone who’s hitting and moving.
“I’d seen an interview with Bohachuk, talking about all the preparation he’d had for our fight. He was supposed to fight Madrimov, so they were training at elite, world level.
“I just wasn’t prepared, and got a bit overconfident because I was outboxing him in the first round, and then got a bit too relaxed.
“But listen, I have no regrets. I believe I’ll be back there one day, and I’d like to fight him again as well.”
While Bohachuk triumphed on that particular night, engineering an emphatic sixth-round finish, it is fair to say that Davis, once again, gave a titanic effort.
But before he targets a rematch with Kelly, or even Bohachuk, the Leeds man must first take care of business in what promises to deliver an all-action affair at Windsor Park, Belfast.
