Robbie Davies Jnr tasted defeat for the third time in his professional career last night as he was beaten by Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela.

The man from Kirby lost by majority decision with two judges scoring the fight 96-95 in favour of Valenzuela and the third judge scoring the bout a draw.

The fight was Davies’ second fight with new trainer Dominic Ingle. Many people have questioned the tactics of Robbie Davies Jnr’s corner, led by Ingle, after they insisted that Davies remained southpaw throughout the fight despite him repeatedly being caught with Valenzuela’s right hand.

The outcome means that for second successive week a top British fighter has lost out to a relatively unknown Mexican. Mauricio Lara knocked out Josh Warrington a week prior and Davies was the next victim of a Mexican fighter.

Davies was favourite coming into the fight despite expecting a tough opponent in Valenzuela. Legendary trainer Eddy Reynoso told Sky Sports that Valenzuela would win the fight. Valenzuela had been promised a spot on Canelo Alvarez card in May if he could get passed tough opponent Davies.

The fight breakdown

The fight was evenly matched early on with both fighters doing some good work and showcasing quick hand speed. Both fighters battled hard to exert dominance in the clinch early on but referee Mark Lisen was keen to keep the fight as clean as possible.

Valenzuela got a break through in the third round when he floored Davies with a right hook earning him a 10-8 round. The Liverpudlian managed to recover well and remain competitive as the fight went on.

The 10-8 round was cancelled out in round four however as Valenzuela was deducted a point for punching while in and leaving the clinch.

As the fight went on Davies was able to get on the outside of Valenzuela and land the southpaw jab throughout the fight and had success in the clinch and on the inside. However, Valenzuela had Davies looking vulnerable at times in the fight landing a straight right hand on countless occasions.

As the fight approached the last two rounds it was hard to call a winner. However, a strong finish by the Mexican fighter proved to be the difference as Valenzuela again landed big shots and wobbled Davies Jnr, who did well to survive in the final round.

Despite Davies’ best efforts it was Valenzuela who walked away with the IBF Intercontinental super lightweight title. The win could mean the Mexican could break into the IBF top 15 contenders.

Did Ingle get it wrong for Davies Jnr?

A major talking point after the fight has been whether Dominic Ingle used the correct tactics. It was clear that Davies Jnr looked uncomfortable at times when fighting southpaw.

Davies was heard in the corner suggesting he would be more effective in an orthodox stance. Ingle responded to his fighter by shouting “You’ve got to listen to me Robbie!”.

The Liverpool fighter stuck to his corner-man’s advice and fought admirably despite not being a natural southpaw.

After the fight Johnny Nelson admitted that he couldn’t believe that Ingle advised Davies to continue to box southpaw.

He said: “It looked like Davies was caught between styles and it just didn’t flow. I can not figure out why he made him stick to it”.

Reaction on Twitter

The boxing world seemed to be in agreement with Nelson on Twitter.

Neither Ingle or Davies have made comment on the criticism of the tactics yet as Davies was sent straight to the doctor after the grueling fight.

The loss means that Davies Jnr has now lost his last two big fights and must now rebuild back to a higher level in 2021.

The defeat was part of a bad night for British fighters as headliner Josh Kelly lost by TKO to David Avanesyan and Rylan Charlton fell short in a brave performance against Florian Marku.

What did you think about Robbie Davies Jnr’s defeat? Did Dominic Ingle get it wrong? Let us know @merseysportlive on Twitter.

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