Fawaz got off to a terribly slow start, but built momentum as the rounds passed and his fitness earned him a close but deserved majority-decision victory. Fawaz has spent years trying to secure a British passport. He now has a British title wrapped around his waist.

The scores were 115-113, 115-114 and 114-114. The fight was DAZN’s chief support to the junior lightweight grudge rematch between Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington.

Fawaz (11-1-1, 3 KOs) was trafficked into the UK from Nigeria as a teenager and has spent years embroiled in a protracted legal battle to avoided being deported. Once a talented amateur, his chance at professional glory has arrived late.

Before the fight, the confident, charismatic 37-year-old tried everything in his power to irritate and annoy Davis (15-4, 6 KOs), who was a consensus 2-1 favorite. The Leeds native walked a difficult path of his own and seemed to find Fawaz’s bravado and intensity funny rather than irritating.

Davis got straight down to business, switch hitting and scoring with the cleaner shots as an awkward, tense Fawaz pawed and stalked behind a high held guard.

After spending two rounds struggling to land anything other than the odd long shot to the body, the eccentric Fawaz began showboating in the third. Rather than losing his shape, Davis calmly continued to make him miss and punished him with an accurate long jab.

Davis turned professional with virtually no amateur background, but he has crammed a lot into his short professional career and that seasoning was obvious. As well as being better defensively, he looked more organized and sure of his plan than Fawaz, who did begin to loosen up, but just couldn’t sustain an attack.

Whether Davis was finding things too easy or just getting frustrated by Fawaz’s talking and antics, he began to get untracked by the middle rounds and needlessly gave away round after round as he forgot his jab and allowed Fawaz to get off first and step around him.

Davis now looked exhausted and just couldn’t match Fawaz’s workrate and energy in the later rounds. He tumbled to the canvas in the 11th round and just couldn’t avoid Fawaz’s short, sharp flurries.

Davis tried to rally in the 12th, but he had no energy and sank to the canvas through sheer fatigue as the final bell sounded.

Throughout his troubles, Fawaz maintained his belief that he would one day become a British champion. He displayed similar faith to keep chipping away as the rounds passed and changed his life forever by defeating Davis.

Davis had rebounded well after suffering three consecutive defeats to Josh Kelly, Serhii Bohachuk and Caoimhin Agyarko, but now faces an uncertain future.

Fan favorite Dave Allen clubbed his way to a first-round knockout of French heavyweight Karim Berredjem before Fawaz won his fight.

On Friday, Allen (25-8-2, 20 KOs) weighed in at a massive 271.1 pounds – 12 pounds more than he scaled for his decision loss to Arslanbek Makhmudov last September and his second heaviest ever. He didn’t need to be in good shape to get past Berredjem (12-11, 3 KOs).

Berredjem was hurt within the opening 10 seconds by a right hand and dropped twice before his corner threw in the towel after just 57 seconds.

Allen, 33, has been linked to a shot at Jeamie TKV’s British heavyweight title, but with the Londoner now seemingly set to fight Richard Riakporhe on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s return to action against Makhmudov on April 11, “The White Rhino” will need to form a new plan.

Earlier Saturday night, Sandy Ryan (9-3-1, 3 KOs) claimed the vacant WBC junior welterweight title with a hard-fought, 10-round majority decision win over Mexico’s Karla Ramos Zamora (12-11-2, 4 KOs).

The scores were 97-93, 97-93 and 95-95.

Fighting at 140 pounds for the first time since 2022, the former WBO welterweight champion was forced onto her back foot early, as a determined Zamora bustled forward. Ryan found it all but impossible to dissuade Zamora, who quickly turned the fight into a close-quarters brawl.

For some reason, Ryan chose not to utilize her boxing skills and elected to stand and trade with the stocky Mexican. She was caught in a storm at the end of the third round and seemed to be hurt by a body shot early in the fourth.

Ryan remembered how to box in the fifth. She finally began to use her feet more and managed to make Zamora fall short, but seemed to freeze whenever Zamora landed anything significant to the body. As soon as Ryan’s feet stopped, Zamora seized on the moment and let both hands go.

Zamora has had an up and down career, but as she sat down on her stool after the seventh, she seemed to be closing in on by far the biggest win of her career. Realizing that things were getting desperate, Ryan rediscovered her discipline. She boxed nicely in the eighth and ninth and then bit down on her mouthpiece and traded to the final bell in the 10th.

It was a close fight, but that strong finish got her over the line.

After beating Zamora, the 32-year-old from Derby native will now seek out a major fight. The 140-pound division isn’t as star-laden as it once was, but her newly acquired WBC title – and the vulnerabilities she displayed – may just persuade a big name to step up from lightweight or down from welter.

Heavyweight prospect Leo Atang (5-0, 5 KOs) cruised to his fifth consecutive victory with a first-round stoppage of his fellow Yorkshireman, Dan Garber (11-7, 2 KOs).

Atang normally uses clever feints and footwork to create openings, but the 19-year-old clearly had no respect for Garber’s power and stepped right to him.

The older man’s southpaw stance posed Atang no problems and he quickly found himself pinned in a corner. Atang hurt him with a short, left hook and continued to punch until the referee stopped the fight. It was over and done in a minute.

The win was Atang’s third in as many months. He will be back in action April 18, on the undercard of the fight between Callum Smith and David Morrell.

Junior featherweight: Tiah-Mae Ayton (4-0, 4 KOs) def. Catherine Tacone Ramos (9-3-1, 2 KOs) by eight-round decision (77-75).

Junior featherweight: Molly McCann (3-0, 1 KO) def. Beatta Dudek (7-9, 4 KOs) by six-round decision (60-55).

Junior welterweight: Joe Howarth (15-2, 4 KOs) def. Dan Booth (6-19, 3 KOs) by four-round decision (40-36).