ROBBIE DAVIES JR didn’t want to be a stepping stone for some up-and-coming prospect. If his career started down this path, he would retire.

After a memorable defeat to Sergei Lipinet in May, which was the fifth defeat of his career, no one would be surprised if the colorful Scouser finished this match. But his display and resilience were so great that the 35-year-old still sees the airy of day and the potential for more huge fights.

On November 1, Davies will be in Belfast, specifically at the SSE Odyssey Arena, to fight Dominican Javier Fortuna in the super lightweight division on the Pro Box card. The 34-year-old’s career looks similar to Davies’s, and his fifth defeat may mean the end of “El Abejon”.

“They gave me some local names, like the odd Irish baby and the odd British baby. I don’t want to mention any names, but they didn’t excite me at all,” Davies said Boxing news.

“If I’m going to fight, I like to fight names that are at a certain level. And Fortuna was with some of the best, such as: [Joseph] Diaz and Ryan Garcia. If you go through his list, there are tons of players. He’s a very technical, solid player and I’m looking forward to it.”

Davies is at a point where his reasons for continuing to box are different from those of years ago. The victories still matter and the ambition never wanes, but these days it’s more about the love of the sport. Now in its 12th yearvol year on the track, Davies experienced good and bad moments in his 28 fights.

A recent career outside of sports is on the horizon. For now, though, he’ll keep punching as long as the huge fights last.

“I know what’s going to happen next if I beat this guy,” the maverick fighter said.

“It’s a constant fight for a huge fight, a huge fight, a huge fight. I couldn’t even say I was doing it because if I came to it [big fight]I’ll get a huge payday and I’ll just do it. I just love it.”

When asked who will be next, Davies wouldn’t reveal, but it’s definitely a fight and a fighter that excites him and keeps his career on the pulse. But before that…

“I’m going to airy this guy up [Fortuna]I’m not having fun.”

Lipinets vs. spectacle Davies could be repeated if the Liverpudlians have their way. In addition to not wanting to be used to benefit someone else’s career, he also doesn’t want to spend 10 or 12 rounds chasing his opponent around the ring.

“I just can’t be bothered,” Davies said. “But if you want to mix it up, that’s my type of fight.

“I feel like I will have a huge advantage in this fight. I know that anyone I can hit, I can hit. I showed that in my last fight Lipinets was injured many times.

I think in all my other fights I’m always the same, so depending on how he takes it and how he recovers, it will be [put] at him. But I’m going to spend the full 10 rounds there and I’m definitely going to strive for that.

Davies is still pushing for a life outside of boxing. Initially, he thought he would stay in sports or take up personal training, but after his mother’s suggestion, he was presented with an unlikely alternative. She initially helped at the local food bank and told her son that there weren’t enough adolescent workers in the area, and he eventually fell into this trap.

“I work a lot with neglected children,” he said.

“I have been running courses for years [and] I work with Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) and ensure that children are treated well, whether the result of neglect or abuse. I started this because I was doing it part time at a local youth club. Kids now ask me to go and watch school football games and stuff like that. And then their fathers say to the children: Did you know he is a boxer? From there it escalates.

“At first, I did it voluntarily, because my mother had something to do with this place, and I was just helping her, and that’s how it started. The people who worked there, without blowing my own horn, said, “You’re great with kids. Would you never think of doing this? And then I started looking into it, but of course there were a lot of qualifications required to work with children, and being in boxing, I had a lot of free time for so many years.

“I know that when I work with kids, I know when I can assist them or just do that 1% of that [it] can do something better for them. It’s also rewarding.”

But Davies’ competitive spirit never fades, even when he’s playing soccer with his kids.

“I’m like Ronaldo against a 10-year-old and I’ll skin them all,” he said with a laugh.

In every area of ​​life, having something to fall back on is extremely crucial. Shoot for the stars, but make sure there is something there to land on if you miss your target. Davies has won British and European super lightweight titles, and now he mixes it up with former challengers and world champions.

He has already started GNVQ Level 4 in Children’s Social Care, which can take up to two years to complete. Working with younger people who had experienced complex situations in their lives opened Davies’ eyes beyond what he had seen in boxing.

“There is no end to what you can do to assist children,” he said.

“You don’t realize how much some people struggle until you’re actually there.

“It’s a gloomy thing. No matter how much you can do, you will never assist or repair the trauma, but you can assist the 1%. This gives you satisfaction while working. Plus, with the time I need and how much I have to do, I can obviously still do boxing, which I still love, so it’s a good balance of what I have at the moment.”

Davies is full of energy, whether you talk to him on the phone or in person. It’s straightforward to see why working in children’s social care would be a good fit for someone of his character and personality. However, a few years ago his life took a different direction when his desire to run marathons won.

After injuring his leg during the fight with Darragh Foley in March 2023, which ended with the Irishman winning by TKO in the third round, Davies needed time to regenerate. He predicted he would be back on the road three months later, but doctors thought otherwise.

Bored Robbie Davies clearly needs extreme medication and completed his first marathon in August.

“I signed up for my first marathon two and a half weeks in advance, obviously not knowing what it would take to run a marathon,” he recalled. “I ran the Chester Marathon and my body just fell apart.

“I had 60- and 70-year-olds running away, tapping me on the shoulder and saying, come on, adolescent man, you can keep going. And I say I’m fucking dying here,” he laughed.

“From that point on, I thought I’d get right into it, and then I ran Up-to-date Year’s Eve, Up-to-date Year’s Day and back-to-back marathons. Then I went from Manchester to Liverpool, 50 miles, ultramarathon. Then I did London, I’ve done some now.

Looking back on his career, Davies doesn’t think he’s achieved any success, but he feels inside he could have done better. A conversation that led him to briefly sing “Ooh La La” by The Faces, which includes the line, “I wish I knew what I know now…”.

“I remember when I was younger I went on a men’s holiday every year and no other player did it,” Davies said.

“They were solid, focused in the box. I probably enjoyed life. And then when I turned pro and started focusing more on zones, I was winning titles and stuff like that.

“If my career ended now, I’d probably say I’m ecstatic, but I’ll always be haunted by the thoughts that I would have done this and I should have done that. But I think a lot of players do that.”

WHEN Nathan Heaney’s hand was raised at the Manchester Arena last November, the world went blurry for a moment for Denzel Bentley.

The Londoner was the clear favorite to retain the British middleweight title against the popular challenger from Stoke, but after 12 rounds in Manchester the belt was gone and Bentley’s career suffered its biggest ever setback.

There was no doubt that he wasn’t at the races that night, and the immediate question was, “Why?” This was a man who had mowed down many other domestic opponents, but he simply could not impress the inspired and spirited Heaney.

Bentley hinted at problems behind the scenes, suggested he didn’t want to be in Manchester at all this week, but didn’t want to make excuses. He didn’t want to dim the glow of Heaney’s crowning glory by revealing what had happened in the weeks leading up to the fight.

The truth, however, is that his world was rocked as training camp reached its most crucial stage, and in this exclusive interview with Boxing News, Bentley revealed how the premature birth of his first son sent him through the most arduous period of his career.

“So I was at camp, I had a fight, everything was ready, everything was fine, and my lady was pregnant,” Bentley recalled. “The baby was supposed to be born in the last week of November, but it was born six weeks earlier. That means I’ve been deep in camp for the last three or four weeks.

“But he was so early, he wasn’t vigorous. He was in intensive care, his lungs weren’t fully developed because he was so early. It came suddenly, three days after the baby shower, boom, it came.

“I was in hospital and was told that if they left him for half an hour he could die. I thought, “This is mental.” Right now my brain is fried, but this fight is coming up so I’m trying to find the balance between being a father, helping the lady and everything else preparing for the fight. Everyone tells me I have to fight even though everything else is happening. But I didn’t want to miss a moment.”

This meant that Bentley lived solely off hospital food and stress, hoping that if he could just make the weight, he would be able to carry himself to victory no matter what. But Heaney had other ideas.

“For me, it was gym, hospital, home, gym, hospital, home for the last three weeks of camp, the most critical weeks,” Bentley adds.

“Now I’m going to Manchester and I can’t see my son. All I can think about is whether he’s okay or not, what does the midwife say? How is my lady? So when I said I was in Manchester but I didn’t want to be there, I really didn’t want to be there.

“In my mind I thought I was going to win this fight and then explain everything because it was very arduous and it was something I hadn’t gone through before. But when I didn’t hear a nod, I thought I’d keep my mouth shut and not make excuses.

“I took a step back and held that loss for as long as I needed to, but now I’m back on track and I can explain it a little better.”

Ultimately, Bentley lost by majority decision in one of the biggest upsets in the British ring all year. However, a lot has changed in these 11 months; Heaney lost the belt to Brad Pauls and Bentley got back on track with two second-round knockout wins at York Hall over Danny Dignum and then Derrick Osaze. And after a hazardous birth, Bentley’s son, who is now approaching his first birthday, is completely vigorous and content.

“It’s all right now,” Bentley says with a broad smile. “He’s content, he’s in a good place and I see the little things about him, his laugh and stuff, so it’s pretty now. He sleeps well… or at least I sleep well, so I really don’t know. His mom does a good job of letting me sleep and continue training.

“Being in the gym and accepting the circumstances I was in, and being with my son and knowing that everything was OK, still put me in a better place. When I trained later, I realized I was enjoying it and the loss wasn’t so bad.

“I needed these two performances and I wanted them to be just that – vicious and explosive. I’m content with how they went and to be sincere, I didn’t expect any of them to go that swift, but I needed explosive performances and I got them.

“I just had to show that the loss I suffered was just a bump in the road because of my situation, and now that I’ve been through it, I can produce performances like that. The two wins put me back in my position and I proved to myself that I should be competing at a higher level and that’s what I’m getting back to.

Denzel Bentley after defeating Danny Dignum in May. (Photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

The nature of his victories certainly suggests that the man who pushed Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in a 12-round race in 2022 is ready for world class performance again despite his defeat to Heaney on November 18. This reignited the clamor for Bentley to face another top British middleweight, Hamzah Sheeraz.

The pair have been heavily linked in 2022 and 2023, and a win over Heaney could well set up a showdown with Sheeraz for the British title. The fighter from Ilford is currently the European champion with a record of 21-0, 17 KOs and is considered one of the most promising fighters in the division.

However, like Bentley, he is promoted by Frank Warren, and the Queensberry boss recently told Boxing News that he is ready to fight the pair this year, and a place at the gala scheduled for December 21, headlined by Oleksandr Usyk against Tyson Fury, he believes considered possible.

Bentley says: “I am No. 2 in the WBO and Hamzah is No. 1. It makes sense. I don’t think I’m too far away from a shot at the world title. I think I’m in a good position now and I’m thinking about winning the world title next.

“If this doesn’t happen with Hamzah, everything will be on his side. I called for it, I said I would do it next time before my last four or five fights, but he’s come a long way, climbing the rankings and everything. I can accept it and appreciate it, but now we are number 1 and number 2, we are just interrupting each other. I think this is the only natural fight that could happen next. If that doesn’t happen, I think he’ll try to find a reason to avoid it, but I’m willing to go through Hamzah to get to the world title.

“This is the division calling for someone to come and take it over. Hamzah probably feels the same way, that he’s the guy to do it. I feel like it’s wide open wherever you go; Erislandy Lara is a great champion, although he is 41 years ancient. Carlos Adames is a good player, but I think he is beatable. Janibek has two belts, but what does he do now? Will it be demolished? Will he get promoted? Either way, it’s wide open and I’m ready for any call.”

Given his sadness in the weeks following the defeat to Heaney, which even included thoughts of retirement, Bentley’s turnaround is further evidence of how quickly things can change in boxing. He also knows that he may be one step away from gaining money that will change his and his family’s life.

“If I do this right, everything will be sorted for him forever,” Bentley says of his son. “I brought him into this world, he didn’t ask me, so I have to secure his future. I want him to have a nice life where he doesn’t struggle and doesn’t have to do the things I had to do to get by.

“Now everything depends on me and everything is clear in my head.”

JAKE Paul radically changed Amanda Serrano’s life. There are no more miserable and disgustingly low paychecks. Serrano and Katie Taylor just shared the richest women’s fighting purse ever.

Significantly higher than what they earned in 2022 at Madison Square Garden. And that payday was unfathomable. Without Jake Paul, we probably wouldn’t have seen a single Taylor/Serrano fight, let alone two.

A reported 50 million households watched their brutal rematch on Netflix on Friday night. Over 72,000 fans came to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Not everyone would have watched Taylor and Serrano exchange blows for twenty pulsating minutes. But it would be enough.

Other fighters, at a different level, would obviously benefit financially from being in the Most Valuable Promotions stable. Jake Paul deserves credit for all of the above. We should praise him for this. Paul showed the established ones how to do this. It even embarrassed them.

But if we’re going to criticize the YouTube sensation on his resume, that’s where the applause should end. Honestly, Paul should be ashamed of himself. Even shame. We should boo him. And extremely clamorous. If his intention is to march on and become world champion, he has failed. If the goal is gigantic WWE-style events, that’s a completely different conversation.

“I plan on doing everything there is to do in this sport,” Paul says. But what exactly does this mean? I wonder if even he knows for sure.

Basketball players, candlestick makers, newborn and vintage. Pulling “players” in other sports from their retirement homes. Jake Paul is part of a grand illusion. A magic trick that everyone knows and sees. We can all see what’s going on. How it works.

But in different ways, we all buy a ticket to see it happen. It’s a great boxing robbery in which we are all too willing accomplices. Jake Paul doesn’t have to wear a mask. It doesn’t have to. We all know what it is, who it is, but we watch it anyway. He takes us for fools because that’s what we are. Where is the curiosity if we know exactly what will happen? Jake Paul doesn’t care. Apparently neither do we.

58-year-old Mike Tyson played his role. You can’t blame him for that. But you can blame Jake Paul and the Texas commission that approved this whole pathetic carnival. It’s more than cynicism. A shameful act intended to feed an already over-inflated ego. It’s an vintage rule, but the ego is well established in a sport that allows it to develop. Tyson was who he was always meant to be. Paul knew this. Truth be told, we’ve all done it. Yet we all gave away our money and invested our precious time.

Paul is laughing at us now. All the way to the bank. You could say he’s been laughing at us since he started his boxing adventure less than five years ago. He knows what he’s doing. And he does it brilliantly. At least that’s what we have to give him.

Tyson’s best shot was a slight punch and tickle at the weigh-in. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Tyson stayed the course. Paul, despite his post-fight words that he didn’t want to hurt Tyson, simply wasn’t good enough to finish the fight before the final bell. This could have been an absolute train wreck. This could have ended very badly indeed. But they almost succeeded. By the way, that’s not a reason to celebrate.

Jake Paul can look back at his accomplishments and smile when he sees Mike Tyson’s name on his resume. But he didn’t beat Mike Tyson. Certainly not in the truest and most honorable way. Jake Paul just beat up a one-legged vintage man. It wasn’t about anything more than that, and frankly, to suggest otherwise is insulting.

The crowd, whose enthusiasm quickly waned as they belatedly realized they had been cheated out of their hard-earned money, booed at what they were served. But were they just booing themselves for buying into the land of pretense? I have no sympathy. We got what we all deserved. Even those of us who strongly disapproved of it continued to watch it.

Tyson looked vintage because he is, at least in a boxing sense. However, Paul once again showed his limitations in the boxing ring. He’s just not that good. Even in his delusional state, Paul must know this too.

We must remember that Tommy Fury, who currently resides in the Misfits entertainment world, defeated Paul not too long ago. For context, Fury was ranked outside the top 20 cruiserweights in his homeland at the time. And then I barely beat KSI. This is the level Jake Paul is at.

Friday night’s extravaganza had a Wrestlemania feel. I wondered if Mr. T and Hulk Hogan would attack the ring at some point. It was such a night. It was an undoubted financial success, but I wonder how many more nights like this Jake Paul can have. The reason so many came out and tuned in was because of Mike Tyson.

Without a presence like Tyson, who can probably replicate what we have in Texas. Perhaps Conor McGregor will be tempted. It certainly fits the selection process. Older, smaller and from a different sport. But in the end, the so-called YouTube sensation will have to choose someone his height and someone his own age, and a fighter who poses a real threat to him.

When that happens, Jake Paul will learn that even boxing can only tolerate so many complicated illusions. There’s only so much you can get away with. At some point this will be discovered and boxing may return to something like normality. At least until the next circus comes to town. And so it will happen.