Twelve months to the day since suffering a horrific injury during the early stages of his fight with Darragh Foley, Robbie Davies Jr is happy and readying himself for a final assault on the super lightweight division. 

Davies (23-4, 15 KOs) didn’t only break his ankle when it twisted awkwardly underneath him last March, he also dislocated it and tore the supporting ligaments.

The ankle is now as good as ever – Davies ran marathons on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day if proof were needed – and a few days after his first real sparring session since suffering the injury he confirmed that he will be training with Anthony Crolla in Oldham. The competitive rounds he shared with a young undefeated fighter confirmed to him that he still has the hunger and desire to fight – something Crolla also probably needed to see. 

“I’m enjoying it,” Davies told BoxingScene. “I’ve been there for a good few weeks and I’ve started doing full weeks there now. At first I was pottering about and doing bits of training at home but I’ve started doing a bit of sparring with Anthony looking over me.

“It’s a year since I broke my ankle. It really does show you the people who are always there for you and the people who just forget all about you.”

It would be an understatement to describe the past 12 months as frustrating but things are finally beginning to fall into place for the 34 year old.

He made a remarkable recovery from the freak injury he suffered during the fight with Foley and was back punching after just 12 weeks. Believing that he would be given the chance to set the record straight as soon as he returned to full fitness, he invested heavily in his rehabilitation. While Davies was still on crutches, Foley agreed to fight Jack Catterall. The Irish-Australian went on to lose a wide decision to Catterall, and the one-sided nature of the defeat meant that Davies lost out on a rematch.

Davies was poised for a breakthrough to main-event status had he beaten Foley. Instead, the former British and European champion found himself rebuilding.

He has spent the past few months listening to various offers from prospective new promoters and – unable to justify the expense of staying in London for months on end without a fight to prepare for – he also had to find a new training and management arrangement after agreeing to leave the set-up he had been a part of at McGuigan’s Gym. 

“I couldn’t find it in me to go down there and train away from home without having a fight locked in,” he said. “I just asked if they could release me because I needed to find somewhere closer to home. They were really sound about it. It was all on good terms. 

“The only fight Matchroom offered me – and he hasn’t boxed since himself because he’s been injured – was Pat McCormack and they wanted me to move up two weights to fight him. I didn’t entertain it at all. They said he’d fight me at welterweight but he hasn’t made that weight before. I didn’t wanna be used as a stepping stone like that.”

Things have begun to move in recent months. Davies has had some interesting offers and is in contention to fight a former world champion in America in May. Victory would catapult him straight back into the rankings. 

“It’s all about making the right choices and right decisions now,” said Davies. “Hopefully things should be agreed soon.”