Ohara Davies sports dazzling new haircut as he plots route to titles
Friday 13 May 2016 15:17, UK
Fast-rising lightweight Ohara Davies is happy to be courting attention with his string of stoppages and an eye-catching new hairstyle.
On April 9, Davies (11-0-KO9) became English champion with a powerful stoppage of Andy Keates on the undercard of Charles Martin v Anthony Joshua at The O2 and the 24-year-old from Hackney is already looking forward to fighting again in June.
Sporting a new bright yellow afro, Davies told Sky Sports: "I'm different. I'm looking at the boxing industry and they all act the same, looks the same and doing the same things. If you want to stand out, you need something different about you.
"Whether they like it or not, it gets them talking about me. I've had a lot more exposure since I did what I did in the build-up to the Keates fight. I think it's doing a good thing for me.
"In Hackney, I'm getting noticed a lot more. People from there like all the trash talking I'm doing. I'm a bit more talkative and showing more attitude now, and people in Hackney really like that.
"I had a dream one night that I grew my hair and it was so big. I got up in the morning and said: 'I'm going to grow my hair.' It was all from a dream, which is weird but that was the inspiration behind the hair growth.
"I was having a talk with Conor Benn and Ted Cheeseman about getting hair dyed, so I just said: 'I'm going to get mine dyed.' I'd never really thought about it before, so it was a spontaneous thing."
Former two-time world title challenger Kevin Mitchell, who helps coach Davies, recently spoke positively about the youngster's chances of dethroning British champion Scott Cardle.
Davies said of his fellow domestic lightweights: "I don't think they really want to fight me right now. I don't care. All I care about is that I get the fights. It's the only thing in my mind. I wanted Romeo Romaeo just because I don't like him personally but I don't think he wants to fight me.
"At my weight class, on the world scene there are fighters that have a lot more heart than the ones who are at the level I'm at now. Those fighters share the mindset I have now, so being avoided won't be an issue for me in the long run.
"I might headline a show on June 3 at York Hall but if not, then I'll be back at The O2 on June 25 on the undercard of Joshua v Dominic Breazeale. I'll definitely fight on one of those two dates, but I'm not sure of the opponent yet."
