British and Commonwealth champion hoping a win in next fight will set up a rematch with previous opponent.
Some fighters just can’t catch a break. Some are just plagued by bad luck or they have a style that isn’t particularly favourable to judges, or it’s some combination thereof.
Bad luck and hard times are the very essence of Ishmael Davis as a man.
Fathering twins at 14 years of age, ‘The Black Panther’ also went to prison twice for the soliciting of illegal substances. But in his boxing career, three fights in particular would direct a new set of eyes onto him.
After defeating Troy Williamson, Davis would face Josh Kelly as a late-notice replacement for Liam Smith on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s title challenge of Daniel Dubois. After putting in a tremendous effort, Davis would ultimately lose a close majority decision.
He would step in on late notice again when replacing Israil Madrimov to fight Serhii Bohachuk on the same card as the titanic rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Though he boxed well early, Davis was ultimately stopped by the lanky Ukrainian halfway through the fight.
Then he fought the undefeated Caoimhín Agyarko as the co-main event to the world championship rematch between Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan, losing a debatable split decision.
Since then, Davis has put together two wins, one of them being over Sam Gilley to become the British and Commonwealth super-welterweight champion.
He next fights on the undercard of fellow Leeds fighter Josh Warrington in his rematch with Leigh Wood. Davis will be taking on English champion and fellow hard-luck fighter Bilal Fawaz.
But the one fight Davis covets is a rematch with Josh Kelly, the first man to beat him. And in an interview with BoxingScene, Davis has said, “Yeah, I think [the rematch is] what he [Kelly] needs to do, but I’m here, man. I’m ready. If he wants to do that, he knows me. I know him. Let’s get it on. It’ll be a massive fight. I know it will. So, hopefully, after I get through Bilal [Fawaz], that’s what comes.”
The two share a win over the previously mentioned Troy Williamson, who was outhustled by both Davis and Kelly.
A rematch with Kelly would give Davis not just the opportunity to gain revenge in avenging a defeat, but something far more special: Becoming world champion.
Kelly recently beat Bakhram Murtazaliev to become the IBF world champion, and should he beat Fawaz, Davis could potentially be a step closer to claiming that belt for himself.
With both fighters signed to Matchroom Boxing, a rematch between the two shouldn’t be difficult to put together. The only question is whether the IBF title would be on the line, given that Davis isn’t currently ranked in the organisation’s top 15.
Has Ishmael Davis’s bad luck finally run out? We shall see soon.
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