Liam Davies seeks two-time Euro glory on Itauma undercard
Telford man must topple Italy's Grandelli in Manchester crunch clash
Moses Itauma steps up in levels this Saturday evening when he takes on American survivor Jermaine Franklin in Manchester. The undercard is shaping up pretty well. In a battle of motormouths, Ezra Taylor meets Willy Hutchinson. Shakiel Thompson tackles former British champ Brad Pauls and Nathan Heaney returns.
Elsewhere, Liam Davies and Francesco Grandelli meet in Manchester for the European featherweight title. The continental crown was left vacant after champion Cristobal Lorente opted for a rematch with Nathaniel Collins. This fight is on the undercard of Moses Itauma’s heavyweight clash with Jermaine Franklin.
Davies was originally set to meet Zak Miller. When the Lancastrian withdrew, injured, this experienced Italian answered the call.
Rangy and busy, Davies uses his long levers to force exchanges and maintain a high pace. That mostly worked until he bumped into Shabaz Masoud.
The Stoke mover used Davies’ often wayward aggression against him, leading the Donnington boxer a merry dance for 12 rounds, securing a surprisingly split verdict in his favour.
Prior to the Masoud mingle, Davies had amassed a neat slate, beating the likes of Marc Leach and Ionut Baluta, moving into a three-fight KO streak, bringing the 122-pound EBU belt along for the ride. Victory here would make him a two-weight European king.
With talk gathering of a possible world title tilt, the Masoud loss was his final fling at super-bantamweight, pushing Liam up to feather. Davies defeated Lisburn’s undefeated Kurt Walker in the Nottingham Arena last May. Grandelli represents his next assignment at 126.
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Tight-guarded and patient, the Piemonte puncher will need a little encouragement to come inside and join Davies for a tear-up. In a 2024 loss to Nathaniel Collins in York Hall, Grandelli spent much of the early going skirting the ring looking for openings before taking the fight to the Scotsman. He busted Collins’ nose with a stray elbow, so Davies will need to be cautious when stepping forward.
Grandelli is hoping this will be third-time lucky in his quest for European glory. In 2023, he met Roma rival Mauro Forte in an all-Italian match-up that ended in a one-round KO loss.
Rebuilding from that shock early starching, Grandelli fared better in his second attempt, 18 months later. Fighting on home soil once more, it still wasn’t enough as marauding Spaniard Cristobal Lorente outworked him over 12 rounds.
Grandelli has proven to be fairly sturdy. Collins couldn’t get rid of him. The swift Forte defeat seems like an anomaly. That said, expect Liam Davies to get the job done within the distance. I envisage a fast start from Davies, whose body work will start to pay off down the stretch.
Grandelli may have a few fleeting moments, but he will be kept firmly on the back foot, ground down round after round. Look for Davies to raise the tempo and finish him off at some point after the 10th.
Image Credit: Queensberry Promotional.
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I was very hot on Davies. I thought he was cooking on gas. He had a rawness mixed with a punch and good energy. The Masoud defeat was a red flag. It wasn’t so much the loss but his failure to adapt. He was switched off. Masoud is a good fighter and will beat a lot of good kids but I was still amazed at Liams inability to adjust and switch to a plan B. Masoud was hardly a bag of tricks that night. Liam couldn’t get past a jab.
I think he grinds out a win on Saturday in a fight that will be fought at a fast pace. Both kids will have good moments but I think it’s a fight where Liam will always be in the driving seat.