Shabaz Masoud and Ishmael Davis Remain Undefeated
In a good bantamweight showdown, Shabaz “Maverick” Masoud (12-0, 4KO) returned to the ring after a one-year layoff to win by split decision over veteran Jose Sanmartin (34-8-1, 21KO)
The early portion of the contest saw the durable veteran Sanmartin staying up in the chest of the younger prospect. He threw punches in bunches whenever Masoud was against the ropes.
In the middle rounds, Maverick adjusted and started finding a home for the uppercuts. He took a half step back to create space while landing the straight and left hooks at the Colombian’s stomach.
El General’s constant pressure was giving the Brit trouble throughout the fight. Realizing things may be close, Masoud turned it up by throwing combination punches down the stretch.
One judge scored it 96-94 for Sanmartin, as two judges had it 98-92, and 96-94 for Masoud, who is now the holder of the WBA Inter-Continental title.
Despite the ridiculous middle card, this was a close fight that could have gone either way. This performance was not world level, and in the post-fight interview, Masoud admitted he needs to do better.
ISHMAEL DAVIS DOMINATES EWAN MACKENZIE FOR THE STOPPAGE
In the battle of undefeated junior middleweight prospects, Ishmael “The Black Panther” Davis (12-0, 6KO) put on a quality performance by stopping Ewan “El Perro” Mackenzie (8-1, 3KO).
From the sound of the bell, Davis proved to be the more skillful fighter. He landed everything but the kitchen sink en route to bloodying Mackenzie’s face with the jab.
The Black Panther effortlessly switched from orthodox to southpaw, landing hard body shots and uppercuts. However, Mackenzie showed heart by fighting strong and landing the occasional right hand.
In round five, Both men took turns landing brutally hard shots. Davis was on the brink of stopping his opponent after landing numerous shots, then Mackenzie turned it on and returned fire with a flurry of punches.
With his opponent’s eye closing, Davis was pinpoint-accurate in landing counters, hooks, and uppercuts over the next couple of rounds.
In the eighth round, he landed several unanswered shots that forced Mackenzie’s corner to throw in the towel. Davis is next in line to fight for English domestic-level titles.
