We are entering boxing’s award season. Over the next week, almost every magazine and website will declare their own favorite fighter, knockout, upset, promoter, TV pundit or walkout song of 2023.

There have been a number of award worthy performances and moments this year but, really, it all comes down to personal preference. However, if there was a prize for Britain’s most underappreciated and overlooked fighter, there would be one standout nominee.

Within 15 fights, Liam Davies has captured the English, British and European super bantamweight titles and he also has a growing collection of international belts. Still, the unbeaten 27-year-old from Donnington gets a fraction of the attention some far less accomplished fighters receive. Davies has big plans and believes that 2024 could be the year he really breaks through.

“It was another good year in the bank. As I expected really. I see myself becoming one of the best in Britain to do it,” Davies told BoxingScene.com.

“I’m still en route to what I want to do and roll on next year. You’ve always got to want to be bigger and better and we’re on the right track to do that. Tick tock.”

After a slow start to the year, Davies brought his heated rivalry with Jason Cunningham to an emphatic end, blowing away the former British and European champion inside three minutes. He rounded out his year in November, successfully defending his European title against the previously unbeaten Vincenzo La Femina.

Having grown accustomed to headlining shows in Telford, Davies found himself as a part of an ensemble cast on Queensberry’s multi-title ‘Magnificent Seven’ card. From the moment the fight was announced he made it clear that he wanted to get rid of La Femina quickly and steal the show.

Davies was in seek and destroy mode from the opening bell and gave the Italian challenger plenty of unearned opportunities. He dropped La Femina in the third round but was forced to take a count himself in the same round. Davies bounced up, put La Femina over again in the fourth and ended the firefight in the fifth. It was an exciting fight to watch and Davies enjoyed being a part of it but he knows that he can’t afford to be so reckless against the super bantamweight division’s top operators.

“It was ok. Everyone was really happy with it bar me and my team,” he said. “I knew I hit him hard and I got excited. That’s still a mistake. At the top level you’ve got to be more cute and clever. I’ve shown I can do that in the past, I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder though didn’t I? Sometimes that’s not a bad thing in boxing.

“He (La Femina) was game. I think he’ll be back and prove  how good he is. I think he’s better than Baluta. He was much cuter and cleverer. I never had trouble skill wise but he was unpredictable. The shot he dropped me with didn’t hurt me at all. I watched it back and i was leaning over. He did hit hard though. I love that though. It gets me going.

“It was a good experience. I learned a lot. Everybody thinks they won’t panic when they go down. I didn’t. It’s another box ticked. 

“People have come up to me since and said it was my best fight ever and it makes me laugh a bit. It wasn’t. It was exciting though.”

The only prize missing from Davies’ trophy cabinet is a world title belt. On Boxing Day, the brilliant Naoya Inoue stopped a determined Marlon Tapales to become the undisputed champion at 122lbs. Davies isn’t the type to tread water and wait for the fearsome Inoue to vacate the belts. If Inoue is still the champion by the time Davies earns his shot, he would happily get out his passport for a trip to Japan. However, if he put himself in Inoue’s shoes, he would be tempted to move up to featherweight in search of a piece of history. 

“This is the way I see it. Nobody has been three time undisputed. People have done it twice [in this four belt era],” he said.

“If there was a favorite out of anyone in boxing who could do it three times, you’d have to say it was Inoue wouldn’t you? I just don’t see why not.”