Boxing expert Chris Oliver previews Saturday's action live on DAZN.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday action
2pts Liam Davies to win by stoppage at 2/1 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power)
1pt Michael Pirotton to win at 8/1 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power)
We have a real crossroads fight on our hands when Liam Davies defends his European featherweight title against Nathaniel Collins on Saturday night, live on DAZN.
Both men have very similar records, with only one defeat on their respective CVs and, while the winner can push on towards a world title shot, the loser will have a lot of rebuilding to do.
The local fighter in this Birmingham clash, Davies (18-1) is the 4/11 favourite, and the Telford man has bounced back well from his sole loss 22 months ago. Davies was unbeaten in 16 outings going into his contest with Shabaz Masoud and, while he was on the wrong end of a split decision, he lost nothing in defeat and that form has worked out well.
He stepped up to 126lbs following that defeat and has won both fights at featherweight, including an impressive sixth-round stoppage of Francesco Grandelli last time out in March.
That is the same Grandelli who took Collins the full 12 rounds in May 2024, although the latter won handily enough on the scorecards.
Collins (17-1-1, 8 KOs), who can be backed at 29/10 here, went on to record career-best victory with a fourth-round win over Lee McGregor 17 months ago, before he came up against the unbeaten Cristobal Lorente for this same belt. Collins was a little unlucky not to get the nod from the judges when they fought out a split draw first time around, but Lorente claimed a deserved split decision victory in the rematch this past April.
Collins looked a little flat that night and his usual high output was missing, so he has something to prove in his first fight since that maiden loss. A big part in picking a winner for this lies with how much you rate Lorente, who remains unbeaten and is a long, awkward fighter. However, he had not fought anyone of note prior to facing Collins and only drew with an eight-fight novice in Ruben Gill 15 months ago.
At his best, the Scotsman is a very busy southpaw who uses his smart feet to bounce in and out of range and launch two-fisted attacks. He likes to punch with his opponents and that should make for an exciting contest against the aggressive Davies.
The champion likes to get on the front foot and let his hands go, throwing long, straight punches and he is very accurate as well. Despite only half of his 18 wins coming inside the distance, he does hit hard and that is evidenced by his run of impressive run of early wins against Jason Cunningham (TKO1), Vincenzo La Femina (TKO5) and Erik Robles Ayala (TKO2) in 2023/2024.
Whereas Collins looked below par on his latest outing, Davies produced one of his best wins by halting the usually durable Grandelli and the momentum appears to be with him going into this all-British showdown.
Davies was beaten by the electric speed and sharp counter punching of Masoud in his sole defeat, but Collins doesn’t offer those same qualities, and the latter should be much easier to hit for the favourite.
That only loss for Davies did come against a southpaw, but it’s hard to say he struggles with left-handers as he looked really good against Cunningham and Ayala, so Collins’ unorthodox stance shouldn’t be an issue for him.
This is a really good fight and while Collins would be very dangerous if at his best, his career seems to have been halted by Lorente, and I wasn’t impressed with him last time out. Therefore, I am siding with Davies to justify favouritism.
It’s just 11/8 for Davies to win by decision and that method is a strong favourite, but better value could be found in him winning by stoppage at 2/1.
Both of these men come to fight and throw plenty of heavy leather, so I can see this one catching fire early doors and we could be in for a barnburner. If that is the case, then Davies has the power and accuracy to do enough damage on his opponent to earn a second consecutive big win inside the distance.
8/1 outsider value for the upset
There is no doubt that is the best fight of the weekend, but perhaps more eyeballs will be on Johnny Fisher versus MICHAEL PIROTTON on Sky Sports.
Thanks to his work on social media, the heavy-handed Fisher has a bigger profile than his skills deserve and that may be why Zuffa Boxing signed him up in a lucrative deal. Nobody saw Dana White’s promotional outfit taking Fisher on, but they will be expecting him to deliver a big performance at London’s Copper Box Arena on Saturday.
After winning his first 13 fights, all against moderate opposition but 11 of them coming by knockout, Fisher (14-1, 12 KOs) seemingly had his flaws exposed by Dave Allen in December 2024 and was very lucky to escape with a split decision victory on the scorecards.
Allen made no mistake in the rematch, brutally stopping Fisher in the fifth round, and in what was meant to be comfortable comeback fight, Fisher was dropped in the first round and badly shaken against Ivan Balaz last December.
Fisher eventually rallied to stop Balaz in the fourth round, but his crude approach and lack of stamina have been highlighted as he has stepped up in class and while he is a 1/10 favourite here, I don’t think he is certain to make a winning debut for his new promoters.
Pirotton (12-2, 6 KOs) can be backed at 8/1 but the difference in skillset between these two is nowhere near as big as the difference in prices. Yes, the Belgian lost a couple of decisions in 2025, but they came against unbeaten men away from home and he has shown enough to suggest he can hang with someone as limited as Fisher.
The latter hits hard and is capable of ending this one early if he finds the target, but the ‘Romford Bull’ doesn’t have much else apart from power and he can unravel if taken a few rounds.
Neither of these two are ever going to be world beaters and I couldn’t back Fisher after what we have seen from him lately, even though he is a hot favourite on home soil. So, there may be some value in the 8/1 available about Pirotton springing a surprise.
While he is pretty basic, he is fairly agile for his 6’5” frame and may have a slight edge in speed here. If he can come through the early onslaught from Fisher, the underdog could ask serious questions of the Essex native, and the visitor is capable of giving his backers at long odds a good run for their money.
Posted at 11:20 BST on 25/09/26
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