Ishmael Davis: record, next fight and profile →
Ishmael Davis has had to cram his Riyadh Season experience into six days. Davis, 13-0 (6 KOs), didn’t have to do hundreds of interviews at the launch press conference. He didn’t get to spend hours in a make-up artist’s chair before shooting a feature film style promotional video and he didn’t get the chance to take part in the obligatory head to head interview with his opponent.
Josh Kelly likes to feel settled. He is not alone in wanting this feeling, of course, but on account of his career choice, finding this feeling is for Kelly more difficult than it is for most. In boxing, after all, the feeling of being surprised or even upended comes with the territory. It is why so many watch two people throw punches and fight. It is also why a fight, where everything is so wonderfully unsettled, remains such a compelling and unpredictable spectacle until the ring clears.
As Leicester Square, London, bustled with fight fans, boxers from the undercard of Saturday’s showpiece card at Wembley Stadium – headlined by the heavyweight clash between IBF champion Daniel Dubois and challenger Anthony Joshua – made their grand arrivals.
Ishmael Davis will replace Liam Smith as the opponent for Josh Kelly at Wembley Stadium on Saturday
Ishmael Davis, confident and perhaps on the cusp of fighting for a British junior middleweight title, surveys the 154-pound division and doesn't lose sleep: "I don’t think anybody’s gonna be touching me, really."
Despite Ishmael Davis' standout performance in a win over Troy Williamson, Caoimhin Agyarko says he's ready to level up and is focused on matching with European champion Abass Baraou:
Sandy Ryan successfully defended her WBO welterweight title win an impressive and one-sided win over Terri Harper.
At first it was on, then it was off but now it has been confirmed that tonight’s fight between Ishmael Davis and Troy Williamson will go ahead. Early this morning it looked like the fight had been cancelled after Williamson missed weight by a massive 4.2lbs but - after a fraught 24 hours - the pair will still meet on the undercard of the super lightweight showdown between British 140lb champion, Dalton Smith, and three-time world title challenger Jose Zepeda. The fight was originally scheduled as a final eliminator for the British super welterweight title but was thrown into doubt when Williamson weighed in at 158.2lbs at yesterday’s weigh in. Davis held up his part of the bargain and tipped the scales at 153.8lbs.
As small hall venues go, the Leeds Banqueting Suite at Elland Road is extremely plush but after boxing there nine times, Ishmael Davis, 12-0 (6 KOs), needed a change of scenery. Last November the relatively unknown 28-year-old super welterweight made the two-hour journey north on the A1 to Newcastle for a fight with the undefeated Ewan Mackenzie with the opportunity to alter the course of his career. When he left the ring and sat down in his dressing room after impressively dismantling Mackenzie in eight rounds, a mixture of emotions ran through his body. There was joy and relief at having won the fight but after a long, difficult journey, Davis finally felt noticed.
Newcastle - Ishmael Davis put in something of a breakout performance to bust up and stop Ewan McKenzie in their English super welterweight eliminator.