Liam Davies halts brave Nathaniel Collins in seven rounds

Liam Davies dropped Nathaniel Collins in the opening round before dominating the Scotsman on the way to a seventh-round stoppage at Birmingham, England's bp pulse LIVE Arena on Saturday.

Collins’ longtime trainer, Joe Ham, called the contest off after his fighter returned to the corner at the end of the seventh, bringing an end to an outstanding performance from Davies.

The European featherweight champion, now 19-1 (10 KOs), had established control almost immediately.

A short left caught Collins’ attention inside the opening 15 seconds and, midway through the first round, a beautifully delivered one-two put him on the canvas.

Collins, 17-2-1 (8 KOs), recovered his composure and enjoyed some success in the second, but Davies was comfortable holding his ground and answering his opponent’s attacks with heavy counters.

Davies’ sharp jab and accurate power punches increasingly dictated the action. Collins continued to fire back in bursts but was too often caught at the end of Davies’ longer shots.

His task became more difficult in the fourth when a left hand from Davies opened a cut around his right eye. The area quickly began to swell.

Collins was determined to continue and pleaded with his corner not to stop the fight. He was examined by the doctor in the fifth and allowed to box on, occasionally finding the target with a lead right hand or counter left.

Davies remained firmly in charge, however, controlling the distance and continuing to land cleanly as Collins battled through the damage.

After two more rounds, Ham decided enough was enough and retired Collins on his stool.

The victory continued Davies’ impressive progress since moving up from junior featherweight, where he had previously held the British and European titles.