Once-beaten featherweight Liam Davies has a new opponent for his bout on the March 28 undercard of Moses Itauma vs. Jermaine Franklin Jnr.
Davies, 17-1 (8 KOs), was originally supposed to face Zak Miller, 17-1 (3 KOs), in this show at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. But Miller is out with an injury, according to Queensberry Promotions.
Instead, Davies will now take on Francesco Grandelli.
Davies, a 29-year-old from Donnington, England, lost a split decision to fellow prospect Shabaz Masoud at junior featherweight in November 2024. Davies then moved up to 126lbs and unanimously outpointed the previously unbeaten Kurt Walker this past May.
Grandelli, 21-4-2 (6 KOs), is a 31-year-old from Italy. He lost both of his bouts in 2024 by unanimous decision, to featherweight prospects Nathaniel Collins and Cristobal Lorente. Since then, Grandelli has put together a three-fight winning streak, including a split decision over the 11-0 Simone Rao this past June and a fifth-round TKO of the 17-2-1 Jose Antonio Sanchez Romero in December.
Among the other notable bouts supporting Itauma vs. Franklin are a light heavyweight match between Ezra Taylor, 13-0 (9 KOs), and Willy Hutchinson, 19-2 (14 KOs); a clash of middleweights Shakiel Thompson, 15-0 (11 KOs), and Brad Pauls, 20-2-1 (11 KOs); and a pairing of middleweights Nathan Heaney, 19-1-1 (6 KOs), and Gerome Warburton, 16-2-2 (2 KOs).
The event will stream on DAZN.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
