MANCHESTER, England – Liam Davies claimed the vacant European featherweight title with a six-round beatdown of Francesco Grandelli at Manchester’s Co-op Live.

The experienced and durable Grandelli had taken both Nathaniel Collins and Cristobal Lorente – who compete in a final eliminator for the WBC title next month – the distance, but the hard-hitting Davies was too much as the Italian was pulled out by his corner corner at the halfway mark of the scheduled 12-rounder.

Davies looked huge for 126lbs, particularly considering the contest was only his second at the weight after moving up from 122lbs. Davies, now 18-1 (9 KOs), towered over Grandelli as the pair met center ring beforehand and it was apparent from the first bell how proceedings would play out. Davies, 29 and from Darlington, England, hurt Grandelli early with a right hand and the Italian looked shocked by the power of the punch.

After just one completed session Grandelli’s eye had already begun to close and in the second the visitor was starting to get desperate. Grandelli, 31, would swing over wild shots with his back to the ropes but Davies, far classier, wasn’t troubled and fired in a hard right to the body. Things went from bad to worse in the fourth when Grandelli was dropped heavily by a short left hook late into the session. The Italian did well to survive the round, but the writing was on the wall.

The fifth was again a hard watch, with Grandelli’s eye now nearly swollen shut, and Davies was making a real dent in his midsection. Davies continued to target Grandelli’s torso, and was warned that some of his attacks landed below the belt in the sixth. It would turn out to be Grandelli’s last session as his corner pulled their man out following the one-sided session. He fell to 21-5-2 (6 KOs) with the defeat to Davies.

"He did well to get up," Davies said afterwards, "but I stayed cool, calm and collected. I proved myself as one of the best in the world. That's what I want from [promoter] Frank [Warren] now, I want a world title shot.

"I'm back, I'm fresh and I'm ready for whatever comes next."

Before then, Manchester’s Michael Gomez Jnr impressively dealt with Jordan Flynn inside three rounds. Gomez Jnr, the son of former British junior lightweight champion and local hero Michael Gomez, was moving up in weight after failing to claim his father’s old belt against Reece Bellotti in February of 2024. Despite Gomez Jnr, 31, being the one moving up to 135lbs, he was the aggressor. Flynn, 29, could not live with Gomez Jnr’s size and energy.

Gomez Jnr set a pace from the off, and Flynn was in trouble. Gomez Jnr continued to bash Flynn from pillar-to-post, and in the third he finally had his opponent on shaky legs. A left hook sent Flynn’s head spinning and a right hook seemed to break his jaw. Gomez Jnr then hammered away at Flynn as he desperately tried to cover up, with the referee Howard Foster jumping in to save Flynn, now 13-2-1 (2 KOs), at 1-54 of Round 3. Gomez Jnr moves to 21-3 (7 KOs) with the win and looks rejuvenated at 135lbs.