PREVIOUSLY mentioned as a future opponent for Naoya Inoue, Liam Davies now begins a new chapter in his career as he debuts at 126lbs against undefeated Northern Irishman, Kurt Walker.
A former British, European and IBO world champion at super-bantamweight, Liam Davies, 16-1 (8 KOs), seemed set to challenge for one of the four major world titles but those dreams were shattered by Shabaz Masoud last time out.
While deemed a split-decision by the judges, Masoud ultimately controlled the contest and was deserving of a more concrete verdict for outboxing the much-fancied Davies in one of the performances of the year on British soil.
Still, the prior success of Davies will give the Telford fan-favourite confidence that he can reach the peak of the featherweight division, with three straight early knockouts against solid opposition at 122lbs proving that his power should remain a threat in his new weight-class.
In a stacked domestic division, fights against names such as Lee McGregor, Peter McGrail and an all-British in-house featherweight world title scrap with Nick Ball could await Davies, but it all starts with Saturday’s co-main event.
Davies will be tasked with Lisburn’s Kurt Walker, 12-0 (2 KOs), who has proven his talents in back-to-back career-best wins against James Beech Jr. and Leon Woodstock, the latter coming on the Crocker-Donovan undercard just two months ago.
Having won the 2019 European Games and coming close to medalling at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Walker’s amateur pedigree makes him a tough opponent for Davies and this step up in opposition represents a huge opportunity for Walker to announce himself on the professional scene.
However, the fact that Walker’s only stoppage since his debut came due to a cut means that he could lack the punch power to deter the hard-hitting Davies from marching forward and fighting through the fire in what is an exciting stylistic match-up.
Liam Davies vs. Kurt Walker Fight Prediction
This contest really could go one of two ways and may result in a scenario in which Davies finds himself behind on the scorecards and reliant on scoring a knockout, with Walker certainly capable of winning the early rounds.
Yet, the jump up in levels does appear too sudden for Walker and the added size will likely aid Davies’ punch power further.
In a competitive clash Davies will eventually get to Walker and claim a stoppage win. But Walker will prove a tough task to overcome and his stock will grow in defeat.
