LIAM DAVIES roared to the finest win of his career, blowing away Jason Cunningham inside a round in his hometown of Telford.
Davies had promised a career-best performance and he was in a rush to prove himself right as he caught vastly experienced Cunningham cold and applied a finish after just 2:36 of the first.
At the end of the week in which Naoya Inoue emerged as unquestionably the finest super-bantamweight on the planet, the pair met to determine the champion of Britain and Europe – and it was not close.
The pair had engaged in a bitter war of words over the course of the build-up and this had grown into a genuine grudge match by the time the ring cleared before the first bell.
Davies, in his hometown, had insisted that 33-year-old Cunningham was too old and weak to win his belts from him at the Telford International Centre.
And so it proved in emphatic fashion, as Davies drew a devastating line under the pre-match back-and-forth with a sensational finish.
Davies was walking him down from the opening bell and keen to push the pace. He made a huge breakthrough midway through the round when a big overhand right stiffened Cunningham up.
The follow-up did not quite send Cunningham down but the Doncaster man did turn around to stop the shots from raining down on him. Referee Victor Loughlin issued a count and Cunningham seemed fine to continue.
But with around 45 seconds left in the round, there was nowhere for him to hide as Davies swarmed all over him. A leaping left-hook sent Cunningham stumbling back into the ropes, and when more unanswered punishment from both hands continued to crash into Cunningham, Loughlin had little choice but to step in.
Davies said: “I feel like I’ve got better as time has gone on. I’ve dedicated my life to boxing, giving it everything and now I’m reaping the rewards. But for me this isn’t enough, I want more, I want to bring a world title back to Telford.”
Inoue is the current WBO and WBC champion at super-bantamweight and he looks set for a unification fight with Marlon Tapales, who currently holds the IBF and WBA belts.
Davies added: “I know a world title fight is difficult at the minute but I’ll keep ticking over and now maybe I’ll fight Denis McCann next if it’s there.
“People could say I’m not ready yet and I could understand that but I just want to prove that I’m ready. I want someone in the top 5. My improvement is not questionable.
“I want Marlon Tapales but I think he’s going to fight Inoue. If not I want the Sam Goodman fight.”