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LIAM DAVIES IS on a personal mission to win the British title in honour of his late grandfather, who inspired him to take up the sport.
Local man Davies takes on the champion Marc Leach for the Lonsdale belt at super bantamweight on June 11 at the Telford International Arena.
Davies, 26, visited his grandfather’s resting place three weeks ago and vowed not to return without the spoils of British title success. The 11-0 former holder of the WBC International Silver title attributes his accomplishments in boxing to both his grandfather and dad Tristan, who currently trains him.
“I lost my grandad before and I fell out of love with the sport,” reflected Davies of his family’s loss in 2011.
“My dad was a boxer at the time and when he took over the coaching everything was new. We’ve landed on our feet now, we’ve come a long way together and now we are reaping the rewards.
“He deserves it, we put in a lot of hours in the gym with a lot of kids and I’m glad we can be on this journey together.
“The win is going to be big for the whole family because boxing is a big part of family life for us. I am flying the flag at the minute and I have got that bit between my teeth to make them all proud.
“With my dad we have come a long way and now we’re near the top of the mountain. We have just got these last few steps to get through and we’re there.
“My dad and my grandad are the main reasons and I have always been in boxing because of those two.
“My grandad played a big part in my boxing, he was there from the start and we had a great relationship too. It saddens me sometimes that he is not here to see all this. I hope, wherever he is, he is looking down and is proud.
“I want to take the British title to him. I took the English and the British is next. Let’s see who can stop me from doing that. I don’t think there are many.”
Tickets for the show at Telford International Centre on Saturday, 11 June are on sale, available from Ticketmaster.co.uk.