Shabaz Masoud
The Real Deal
Bio
Shabaz Masoud is one of the slicker operators on the British scene, a Stoke-on-Trent southpaw with genuinely quick hands and the sort of ring intelligence that cannot be coached into somebody who does not already have it.
He is back on Saturday at Manchester's Co-op Live, on the Hedges-Brown undercard, facing Argentina's Ckari Mansilla for the WBA Intercontinental and IBF Intercontinental featherweight titles. It is his first serious outing since stepping up in weight, a move he says has made him feel considerably better.
“It got to a stage in my career where I felt like it was the right time to move up,” he said during fight week. “I'm enjoying it a lot more as well.” Fighters who look comfortable at a new weight usually are, and Masoud has spent the year in the gym waiting for this.
If he looks the part on Saturday, a domestic title fight at featherweight follows quickly. He is too good to be spending 2027 on Intercontinental straps.