By james art 
Shabazz Massoud overcame some questionable officiating to earn a split decision victory over Liam Davies after putting on the best performance of his career.
Davis, 28, had entered their super bantamweight contest at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England with such momentum that he was being talked about as a potential opponent for the great Naoya Inoue.
Instead, over the course of 12 intense and entertaining rounds, his limitations were exposed by a superb technique that showed potential to compete at world level in a way Davis never had.
Scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 113-115 in Massoud’s favor, on a night when his shot selection and timing and distance made Davis’ work ethic one-dimensional, did a disservice to Massoud’s tactical execution.
From the opening minute, there were clear signs of the size of Davies’ task. Masoud – also 28 and considered, before the fight, the significant underdog – started against an often quick starter with admirable sharpness and repeatedly landing authoritative punches.
He had twice beaten Davies as an amateur and during the opening rounds why could show more and more. Davies persisted in trying to march forward but was repeatedly punished for doing so by being punched and countered, and as early as the fourth he looked to be counting on Massoud disappearing down the stretch.
It was also in the fourth when he was cut over his right eye and in the fifth when he continued to struggle with the distance established by Massoud.
When in the sixth Davis landed a hard right hand but was later caught by a left on the inside and later another remained on the counter, his hopes of regaining a sense of momentum dashed again.
Former WBC super middleweight champion Richie Woodhall, commentating from the ring for broadcaster TNT Sports, questioned whether Davies was “overconfident” in the build-up to his 17th professional contest, and in the eighth round a right-left combination from Massoud again stung Davis.
Such was the underdog’s dominance that it seemed likely that Davies would be the one to risk tiring himself out. He was briefly able to close the distance between them and capitalize by dropping his hands, but was then caught by a left hand as Massoud pulled away from him, which served as a symbol of why Massoud so regularly looked in control.
Before the ninth round, Davis could be heard asking his corner, “Am I getting into it again?” and in the 10th, when Massoud finally tired, Davis responded with a left hand that found his opponent with a right.
Davies’ cut worsened and he struggled to get the stoppage he needed to win, but as they remained competitive until the final bell and his left cheek swelled, it became increasingly clear that he had done too much. little to deserve the win.