Shabaz Masoud Underwhelming in Split Decision Win

On Saturday, November 11, Shabaz Masoud (12-0, 4 KOs) continued his journey towards a potential world title shot with a tough win over Colombian Jose Sanmartin (34-8-1, 21 KOs) at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England. The super bantamweight clash headlined the DAZN NEXT GEN card and was streamed live on the platform in over 200 countries across the globe (excluding Australia and New Zealand). 

Shabaz Masoud Defeats Jose Sanmartin

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Masoud Earns Tough Victory Against Difficult Opponent

Masoud was named by Big Fight Weekend as one of our top 5 Asian boxers to watch in 2023. It’s been a somewhat frustrating year for “Maverick” since his impressive win over Jack Bateson, with illness stopping him from appearing on the Jack Catterall vs. Jorge Linares undercard.

Sanmartin proved what a tough opponent he is as he came forward for the whole fight, applying pressure to Masoud – working the body. “Maverick” showed his class at points, working well off the jab through the middle rounds. The British fighter controlled the distance well in certain rounds – but couldn’t negate the work rate of the Colombian fighter. Sanmartin kept his work rate going throughout, but the cleaner work undoubtedly came from the Rochdale-born fighter. The British fighter struggled to maintain the distance on a consistent basis. The judge’s scorecards were 98-92 and 96-94 for Masoud, with the third card reading 96-94 for Sanmartin. 

Post-fight Quotes

Following the judge’s scorecards, Masoud was honest about his performance: “That was nowhere near my best. I want to get back in the gym and be better than that.”

The Matchroom fighter added context to his performance: “I have been through a rough year.”

His trainer Ben Davidson was honest in his assessment of Masoud’s performance: “He didn’t execute it at all.” He continued: “That wasn’t good enough.”

Promoter Eddie Hearn spoke after the fight about believing Masoud is good enough to win a world title, but also mentioned: “We must have better.”

Masoud vs. Sanmartin Undercard Results

Highly rated Cameron Vuong (2-0, 1 KO) defeated John Henry Mosquera (5-5, 1 KO) in the co-main event. The lightweight clash was only the second professional contest for Vuong, who showcased his ability to fight at a distance behind an effective jab. He also showed great variety in his punches – controlling the fight, throwing the left jab and following through with the right hand. The scorecard for the fight read 60-54.

Decorated amateur Calum French (4-1, 1 KO) was defeated by Jeff Ofori (13-5-2, 4 KOs) via 8th round TKO, as the corner from French decided to throw in the towel. 

Mark Dickinson (6-0, 2 KO) continued his unbeaten professional career, defeating Grant Dennis (18-6, 3 KOs) via 5th round TKO.

Ishmael Davis (12-0, 6 KOs) defeated Ewan Mackenzie (8-1, 3 KOs) in a light middleweight clash, with the corner of Mackenzie throwing in the towel during round 8.