Hometown hero Davies is crowned European champion in Telford
Liam Davies was crowned EBU European Super Bantamweight champion in his hometown of Telford.
The BCB Promotions-managed boxer who trains with his father Tristan, also added the WBC International title to his collection with a unanimous decision victory against Romanian Ionut Baluta.
Davies headlined Frank Warren’s BT Sport show at the Telford International Centre in front of a raucous home crowd.
The 26-year-old dominated the early rounds as he used his height and reach to maintain and control the distance.
The left hook-uppercut combination continued to have success for Davies as he walked the shorter Baluta on to short, sharp shots.
The British champion did have to deal with a late onslaught from his opponent down the stretch, but Davies calmed any remaining nerves with a confident showing in the championship rounds; executing Errol Johnson and Tristan Davies’ gameplan to perfection.
Baluta had become something of a bogeyman for the 122lb division – the Romanian bested the highly-touted Brad Foster last time out.
But Davies went one better than his British counterpart as he outpointed the Romanian over 12 rounds, 116-112, 117-111, and 118-110.
Davies capped off an impressive 2022 with another win, having already secured the British title earlier this year in a points victory against Marc Leach.
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Macauley Owen extended his record to 5-0 with a decision victory against fellow lightweight Eduardo Valverde on Saturday’s Telford show.
BCB Promotions-managed Owen made the perfect start in his hometown, sending his Spanish adversary to the canvas midway through the opening round thanks to a beautiful straight left hand.
The Spaniard remained defiant throughout though and showed some serious toughness to make it through to the final bell as he continued to be met by a barrage of shots from the BCB fighter.
Owen started targeting the body of his opponent in the later rounds and he had success doing so, with the Nicaraguan-born Valverde’s grimaces worsening with each shot that landed.
It was not to be though as the experienced Valverde managed to get through the rounds and deny Owen what would have been his second stoppage win in the professional ranks.
The 25-year-old dominated all six rounds and cruised to a dominant points triumph – referee Chris Dean scored the contest 60-53 in favour of the southpaw
