Bilal Fawaz Rallies Late To Defeat Ishmael Davis, Wins British And Commonwealth Titles

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The judges scored the fight 114-114, 115-113, and 115-114 in favor of Fawaz, who took command of the later rounds after Davis had built his early lead.

Davis, 30, established himself early by boxing behind his southpaw jab and using his footwork to stay out of range. He landed sharp counters and kept Fawaz from setting his feet. His accuracy and movement allowed him to win rounds during the first half of the fight as he controlled the pace and distance.

Fawaz, 37, continued pressing forward and gradually began landing more as the fight progressed. He stepped inside Davis’ jab and forced exchanges instead of allowing Davis to box at range. His punches began landing more consistently during the middle rounds, and Davis was no longer able to move as freely as he had earlier.

Fawaz landed several clean right hands and straight punches during the later rounds as Davis relied more on holding and movement to slow the pace. Davis still had moments, but he was no longer able to control the action in the same way he had during the opening rounds. Fawaz remained active and continued forcing exchanges through the closing stages.

Neither fighter scored a knockdown during the twelve-round contest, and the outcome depended on which fighter finished stronger over the full distance.

The victory gave Fawaz both domestic titles and improved his record to 11-1-1. Davis fell to 15-4 and lost the belts after his early success was overtaken by Fawaz’s stronger finish over the second half of the fight.

Fawaz did not allow the fight to get away from him when he fell behind, and his willingness to continue pressing forward secured the biggest win of his career.