BoxRec

Featherweights Hit The ‘Homestretch’ In Brum Classic, Live On DAZN

FEATHERWEIGHTS HIT THE ‘HOME STRETCH’ IN BRUM CLASSIC, LIVE ON DAZN

A CLASSIC FEATHERWEIGHT confrontation tops the bill when Queensberry return to Birmingham’s BP Pulse Live on Saturday 26 September, when Liam Davies takes up the challenge of Nathaniel Collins, live on DAZN.

It is England vs Scotland in the boxing ring, with Davies – the current European and WBO Intercontinental champion, trades blows with Glasgow’s ‘The Nightmare’ Collins, the former British, Commonwealth and WBC Silver champion.

Also on the card, middleweight Nathan ‘Hitman’ Heaney (19-2-1, 6 KOs) – along with his army of fans from the Potteries – will run it back with Gerome Warburton (17-2-2, 2 KOs) in what will be his farewell fight before retirement, after the Stoke favourite was outpointed by the Welshman back in March.

Olympian Luke McCormack (5-0, 3 KOs), fresh from his first 10-round super lightweight triumph over Kane Gardner in February, goes up against the deadly Kay Prospere (16-2-1, 7 KOs).

Also at featherweight, the Morecambe starlet Nelson Birchall (11-0, 8 KOs) faces Gully Powar (13-1-1, 1 KO), who fought to a draw in a British title clash with Rhys Edwards in April. Birchall, just 21, became English champion in March with a ninth-round stoppage of Ryan Griffiths.

Davies (18-1-0, 9 KOs) is establishing himself as a featherweight force after stepping up from super bantamweight, where he became IBO world champion, and won the European, British, WBC and WBO International titles.

Southpaw Collins (17-1-1, 8 KOs) will be determined to bounce back in a major fight following his first professional defeat in April against European champion Cristobal Lorente in Glasgow. That fight was a rematch of a drawn encounter in October 2025 and doubled as a final eliminator for the WBC world title.

Collins ultimately came off second best via a split decision but can put himself right back in the world title frame with a victory in Birmingham.

“There will be absolutely no quarter given in this first clutch of fights we are announcing for Birmingham on Saturday 26 September,” said promoter allegedly. It really can’t get much better at featherweight than Liam Davies being matched with Nathaniel Collins.

“Both have got strong world title ambitions and a fight of this quality will allow one of them to issue a massive statement of intent. Liam and Nathaniel are both all-action fighters and both possess the power to close the show at any moment.

“I believe we will witness a true England vs Scotland classic.

“The Stoke fans will be rocking in the aisles to welcome Nathan Heaney back into the ring one last time for his rematch with Gerome Warburton. He’s given so much to British boxing and he deserves the opportunity to settle the score with his fans behind him.”

“We’ve also got the emerging talents of Luke McCormack and Nelson Birchall on the show in career-toughest tests against opponents who will fancy their chances of upsetting the odds.”

Liam Davies faces Nathaniel Collins in Birmingham in September

Davies vs Collins headlines the Queensberry Home Stretch card at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham

Liam Davies faces Nathaniel Collins at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, on September 26. The bout headlines the Queensberry card billed as “Home Stretch.”

- Davies (18-1, 9 KOs) of England comes off a sixth-round stoppage victory over Francesco Grandelli on the Itauma vs Franklin undercard in May, when he claimed the vacant EBU European and WBO Intercontinental titles.

- Collins (17-1-1, 8 KOs) of Scotland suffered his first career defeat in April, when he dropped a split decision to Cristobal Lorente in their rematch that served as a WBC title eliminator.

Tickets for the event are expected to go on public sale shortly. The card airs live on DAZN.

The Davies vs Collins undercard includes:

- A middleweight rematch between Nathan Heaney (19-2-1, 6 KOs) and Gerome Warburton (17-2-2, 2 KOs) following their first fight in March, when Warburton claimed the win by unanimous decision.

- A super lightweight contest between Luke McCormack (5-0, 3 KOs) and Kay Prospere (16-2-1, 7 KOs).

- A featherweight matchup between English champion Nelson Birchall (11-0, 8 KOs) and Gully Powar (13-1-1, 1 KO).

Launch Presser

Davies: Beating Collins should earn me a world title fight

Liam Davies remains confident that a win over Nathaniel Collins on September 26 will earn him a featherweight world title shot.

After impressively dominating Francesco Grandelli in March, the European champion agreed every offer or idea that came his way.

Former British champion Zak Miller continues to rebuild from the biceps injury ruling him out of a bout with Davies on the rescheduled March 28 date. Meanwhile, former WBA beltholder Nick Ball opted for a different route back after a 12th-round stoppage loss by Brandon Figueroa on Feb. 7 so Davies surveyed the landscape at 126 pounds.

In doing so, he accepted a fight with Collins after the Scotsman's unsuccessful two-fight series with Spain's Cristobal Lorente (21-0-3, 8 KOs) resulted in a draw and April split decision defeat in their WBC final eliminator.

The two will meet at Birmingham's bp pulse LIVE on September 26, streamed exclusively on DAZN worldwide.

Davies (18-1, 9 KOs) holds top-10 rankings with the WBC, IBF and WBO and believes a victory over Collins (17-1-1, 8 KOs) should warrant a world title fight.

“I think Nathaniel was the third fight I accepted. They came with loads of names. I'm just down to fight,” Davies said at Tuesday’s launch press conference.

“I'm 30 now. I’ve been European champion for so many years at two different weights. I'm down to fight anyone and feel like I'm a problem at this weight. I found my weight class and built into it good. I’m hungry, on the verge of world titles and they could have said any name honestly.”

Davies has previously shown he's capable of boxing to order and following a well-rehearsed script but is also ultra competitive and has deceptively heavy hands. That combination can lead him into trouble.

During his November 2024 defeat against the slick Shabaz Masoud, he was sidetracked from his plan and spent 12 rounds loading up, following the southpaw. That result ended his belt-laden run at junior featherweight.
Moving up to 126 pounds seems to suit him perfectly.

Against Grandelli, he struck the perfect balance, aggressively but smartly stalking the Italian while punishing him from all ranges. Despite fighting at championship level for many years with some notable victories along the way, that display was arguably the most complete of his career to date.

Collins can also be dragged into a fight but the southpaw is best when using his reflexes and footwork.

Davies knows that he can't just declare war on the Scotsman but also believes given what's at stake, it's inevitable they will eventually end up holding their feet and trading.

“You're going to see me turn up and do everything to win,” he said.

"I do love a fight so, yeah, we're definitely going to have it out at some point. The last time I fought a southpaw it didn't end too well [the Masoud defeat] so I’ve just got to be a bit more clever about it.

“I learn from experiences so I'm going to do what I have to. I think it could more than likely be stopped because look how hungry we are. I ain't interested in going back down levels after this, he ain't either, so one of us is going to be done and it's all on the line on the 26th.”