Davies Delivers In Telford Cracker

By Frank Warren

WE MADE ANOTHER successful stop in Telford on Saturday night where the local favourite Liam Davies delivered a blistering performance to add another belt to his previous collection of three.

Most people, myself included, did not anticipate Jason Cunningham being banished in such a swift and emphatic fashion. Jason is a top and very canny operator and I don’t feel he can have any complaints over the stoppage because he was not returning fire during Liam’s onslaught.

As I mentioned last week, Liam’s run of form and productivity has been truly remarkable, now yielding six title belts from just 14 professional fights. He has created himself a fortress up in Telford and, for the first time ahead of this fight, he started making some noise and really pushed the promotion.

I actually did note from some of his comments beforehand that he fully intended going in there and doing a quick job on Jason. He said he wanted to remind people of the explosiveness he displayed in his first couple of fights with us, which were forgotten about a bit following his two tough points wins over Marc Leach and Ionut Baluta.

Of course, talk will turn to a potential meeting with Dennis McCann, if the Menace manages to overcome Baluta next time out at York Hall on August 18.

I believe this to be a cracking fight and it could be something very special. However, I would prefer to push both boys a bit further forward before putting them together.

I just feel it can be a bigger and more lucrative fight for the fighters if we wait a little while and get them both further up the rankings towards world title level. Much as we love the International Centre in Liam’s home town, this fight should be way too big for it.

Much the same as in the lightweights with Mark Chamberlain and Sam Noakes. I want both to be in banged-out arenas and the focus of widespread public interest.

Also, because we believe so much in all four fighters, we would prefer for there to be highly significant titles on the line and be huge occasions for TNT Sport.

I know some people would like it if we just made these fights now, but we would not be doing the best job for our fighters or be working in their interests. Fights like McCann-Davies and Chamberlain-Noakes deserve much more than being considered great ‘trade fights’.

Another highlight from Saturday was the performance of Eithan James, who won his first title at welterweight with his defeat of a very motivated James Moorcroft.

Eithan knew he was up against a tough cookie and did exactly what he needed to do, which was - for the most part - hit and not get hit. Eithan’s speed and movement was top class and, in my book, he won the fight much wider than declared by the judges.

It represented something of a graduation party for the Northampton youngster, passing a serious exam with flying colours. He has proved himself ready and capable of being pushed forward as a serious contender.

I am sure the same will soon be said of Moses Itauma, who got another six rounds under his belt against Kevin Espindola.

I could see Moses was frustrated that his opponent didn’t come to trade, but he has got to learn to deal with fighters who don’t let him have it all his own way. It is heavyweight boxing and a lot of opponents will cover up and just hope to land a bomb should the home favourite have a lapse in concentration. It only takes a split second and it can be lights out.

Moses must learn from the experience and continue to adapt to whoever is put in front of him. It is a learning process because, don’t forget, he is just 18 and is effectively serving an apprenticeship.