Shabaz Masoud has got Liam Davies’ number
Telford man toppled, Foster’s revenge and McCrory bounces back
SECONDS after the final bell had rung, Liam Davies paraded around the ring sporting a rueful smile within those pearly white teeth. Davies knew he had been unable to solve the Shabaz Masoud Rubik’s Cube after 12 rounds of brute force attempts.
Photo Credit: Big Fight Weekend
Liam smashed the cube on the ground, threw it against the wall and tried to dismantle it, coloured block by block, and yet, Masoud was too cute, too savvy, too stubborn to fold as many had expected he would.
Growing increasingly frustrated that his power-packed approach was not working on the man who had already beaten him twice as an amateur, Davies’ desperation fed the Stoke southpaw multiple opportunities to tag an available chin and static skull.
Davies grappled, grabbed, elbowed, and leaned inside, trying time and again to land lead right hands. Square on, ‘Thanks very much’, said Masoud, who simply bopped the left hand home, twisting off the ropes, stacking up points.
It was hard to give the Telford favourite, and now former IBO super-bantamweight king, too much of anything. Perhaps rounds were even awarded by virtue of doing a little better than before, i.e. not getting hit flush repeatedly across three minutes.
Terry O’Connor’s 116-112 scorecard was a little too close for comfort. Jean Marie Natus’ 115-113 was too tight to be believed. Marco Morales’ 115-113 to Davies was not based in any reality that the Resorts World Arena had to offer. Never mind, the right man won.
I was ringside the night when Ryan Burnett bossed Lee Haskins for 12 rounds, only for Judge Clark Sammartino to score 10-2 in favour of Haskins. He later revealed that he had got the two fighters mixed up and never judged again at that level. Maybe Morales had a similar mind blip on Saturday evening.
O’Shaquie Foster gets world title revenge over Robson Conceicao
Speaking of judging decisions, O’Shaquie Foster made sure Robson Conceicao’s stint as WBC super-featherweight champion was a short one by winning a revenge split decision in New York. Conceicao started off strongly but faded as the fight progressed, allowing Foster to land sharper shots and hurt the Brazilian late on.
How about a third fight? Nobody said afterwards. Normal service has been resumed and Foster will tilt his head back at title rivals for unification opportunities.
Photo Credit: Top Rank/ESPN
Scenes on the undercard as everyone’s favourite heavyweight punch bag Richard Lartey pulled a blinder by adding “Harrison” to his surname and thus evading the stringent licensing officials who would surely have rejected him had they not been fooled. Damien Knyba wasn’t falling for that one and dutifully bludgeoned Lartey in round three. Anyone half-decent batters the Ghanaian early.
Padraig McCrory scores Carrillo bounceback win
On Saturday evening I was in Belfast’s SSE Arena to watch Padraig McCrory make a successful ring return, defeating Leonard Carrillo over 10 rounds. It was a competitive main event and refere Hugh Russell Jr’s 98-91 scorecard felt a little wide.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Pody. He can definitely punch and showed a lot of guts and experience to weather a few storms and prevail, all after a difficult personal week. As he outlined in the post-fight, lessons had been learned from the Edgar Berlanga loss around surviving being hurt, as he was in the opener by Carrillo. I expected the Colombian to fade late, but he was dangerous for the full half hour.
About Steve…
Current existence: Online editor at Boxing News Magazine.
Previous lives: Author (8 books), podcaster (500+ eps), scriptwriter for Motivedia channel, newspaper journalist, copywriter & educator.
Contact: stevenwellings1982@gmail.com