Nathaniel Collins believes he is being overlooked as he winds down preparations for his fight with European featherweight champion Liam Davies.
DAZN will televise the all-British clash from Birmingham's bp pulse LIVE Arena on September 26.
This time last year, Collins (17-1-1, 8 KOs) seemed set for an assault on the world scene.
In October, the former British and Commonwealth champion fought to a 12-round majority draw with Spain's Cristobal Lorente for the vacant European title. Six months later, an uncharacteristically flat performance saw him lose a split decision in their rematch, which doubled as a final eliminator for Bruce Carrington's WBC crown.
The Scotsman's dip in form has coincided with Davies' emergence at featherweight. The former British and European junior featherweight champion finally made the move to 126 pounds after a disappointing points defeat by Shabaz Masoud in November 2024.
Davies (18-1, 9 KOs) returned to winning ways with a comfortable decision over 2020 Olympian Kurt Walker and in March, dismantled Italy’s Francesco Grandelli in six impressive rounds to become the European champion.
In May 2024, Collins looked set for a comfortable win over Grandelli until a stray elbow badly broke his nose. The 30-year-old Glasgow native eventually battled his way to a unanimous decision after a draining battle.
The skilled southpaw is a career featherweight and thinks those picking Davies based on his recent form are overlooking his size, strength and pedigree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8yLPDxC2Nw
"In the build-up I've seen people saying, “Liam this” and “Liam that” in terms of his power and stuff but we've got pretty much the same knockout ratio," Collins told The Ring.
"People can say that he's had a couple of fights at 126 pounds but Walker and Grandelli are not big featherweights. I'm a unit, this is the proper featherweight test and I'm going to be there swinging."
Armed with excellent reflexes, Collins is best when he can find his rhythm, dictate the pace and score with accurate counterpunches. Davies is a rangy boxer-puncher with legitimate power at the end of his shots.
Both have run into trouble when allowing themselves to get sidetracked from their pre-fight plan, giving into their love of a fight. Whoever can stay disciplined for the longest could well come out on top.
"I think we both do what we do very well and it's going to be who can do what they do well the best and most, so I'm looking forward to it," Collins said.
"I've got the same feeling that I had with the Lee McGregor fight [Collins stopped McGregor in four rounds in May 2025]. I know this is a real fight, this is dangerous. You need to be on top of your game and that's how I've prepared as well, so feel like I'm back at that stage I was at 12 months ago."
