Junior middleweight prospect Anthony Fowler bounced back from his first career defeat to score a 10-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Brian Rose at the Exhibition Center in Liverpool, England, on Friday. The official scores were 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93.

The bout matched Fowler’s youth and aggression against Rose’s experience and cunning and evolved into an intriguing encounter. Rose landed with some memorable single shots, but for the most part he was driven backwards and outworked by the younger and fresher man.

The 34-year-old Rose, who was stopped in seven rounds by Demetrius Andrade in June 2014, was a classy operator at his best, but this version of him was unable to match Fowler for pace and energy. However, it was still a gutsy performance from the Birmingham man who had his moments.

There was real drama in the ninth when Fowler emerged from a clash of heads with a badly cut right eye, but for all intents and purposes the fight was decided by that point. Fowler hurt Rose badly with a thudding right hand in the final session and came close to securing a stoppage.

The 28-year-old Fowler (10-1, 8 knockouts) had been approaching domestic title contention when he was outpointed by Scott Fitzgerald in March. The hard-hitting Englishman was ahead on the cards entering the 10th and final round but got careless and Fitzgerald capitalized, dropping Fowler heavily to secure a deserved split decision. A rematch of that bout is likely to happen some time in 2020.

Daviez Jr. (right) opens up on Dufek. Photo by Mark Robinson

British and European junior welterweight champion Robbie Davies Jr. (19-1, 13 KOs) scored a third-round stoppage of Michal Dufek in a tune-up bout. Davies had everything his own way and a whipping left hook to the body in the third set up a prolonged onslaught that forced referee Howard Foster to rescue the stricken visitor. The official time of the stoppage was 2:45.

Davies, a talented and seasoned southpaw, is closing in on a world title shot, however, an all-British affair with Lewis Ritson – who scored a third-round stoppage over Marek Jedrejewski earlier in the night – could be up next. There’s legitimate bad blood and it’s an easy enough fight to make with Matchroom Boxing promoting both men.

Tom Gray is Associate Editor for Ring Magazine. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

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