Caoimhin Agyarko is aiming to make Ishmael Davis revisit some still raw memories when the junior middleweight contenders meet in a 12-round fight on Saturday night, streamed on DAZN live from Windsor Park in Belfast.

Over the past year, Davis has stepped up in level twice, facing Josh Kelly and Serhii Bohachuk. Although the 30-year-old earned plaudits for testing himself, he lost both fights.

Agyarko (17-0, 7 KOs) hasn’t been beaten since he called time on a successful amateur career seven years ago.

It would be a surprise if either fighter were able to dominate Saturday’s fight from the get-go. Agyarko however, is confident that if he can remind Davis of the difficulties he encountered during previous defeats against Kelly and Bohachuk, those familiar feelings of frustration and desperation will come flooding back.

“Definitely. I think Ishmael knows how to find a way out,” Agyarko told The Ring.

“I don't and never will. You'll have to nail me to that canvas for me not to walk out of that arena with my hand raised. I'm not banking on it but feel like when it gets tough in there on the night for Ishmael Davis, he’s found a way out before in his last fight and he'll find a way out again.”

Agyarko is referencing Davis’ December 2024 fight with Bohachuk.

The quality former WBC interim champion was too experienced and accomplished for Davis, quickly working out many ways to land his heavy hands both at range and in close quarters. Davis’ corner saved their fighter after six increasingly one-sided rounds.

Agyarko and his trainer Stephen Smith will have undoubtedly studied that fight and recognised ways they can be effective but there is also plenty to be learned from Davis’ September 2024 decision defeat to Kelly.

Agyarko doesn’t possess either the reach nor power of Bohachuk but the 28-year-old has shown the ability to box, move and counterpunch effectively.

Kelly didn’t set a hot pace but clearly wary of exhausting himself mentally and physically during his first genuine step up in class, Davis boxed conservatively and allowed rounds to slip away. He did launch a late bid to turn the fight around but drifted to a relatively uneventful majority decision defeat.

Davis is unlikely to make the same mistake again but Agyarko is confident of making a statement regardless of the way the Leeds man approaches their fight.

“There’s some people saying he took that fight on late notice,” Agyarko said when asked about the cautious way Davis boxed Kelly.

“He was in camp for a different fight so it was only two weeks. If you're not fit [don’t fight]. We’re two weeks out and I’m ready to fight.

“Maybe he conserved his energy a bit, maybe in the back of his head it was his first big fight. I don't take too much away from that.

“I don't look at that performance. I'm a completely different fighter than Josh Kelly but if he comes in and boxes me the way he did Josh, it's going to be an easy night to work.”

Kelly has only boxed once since beating Davis but stands on the verge of an IBF junior middleweight title fight against unbeaten champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs).

Agyarko prefers to concentrate solely on his own career rather than trying to outdo his rivals but knows that an eye-catching victory on Saturday will move him an important step closer to world title contention.

“I think this is a great opportunity for me in my home city to go out and put on a really punch-perfect performance,” he said.

“I've been sparring great, I've been training hard, this is the best camp I've ever had. I know people say that but I genuinely feel like this is the best camp and fittest I've ever been in.

“There is no excuses for me not to go out on September 13 and put on a punch perfect performance.”