Under the management of ex-professional fighter Johnny Vaughan, Davies continued his success with five wins in 1939, all taking place in south Wales.

Due to working in a reserved occupation, Davies was not conscripted into the British Forces after the outbreak of World War II.

A newspaper report following his defeat of Pickens, who was once the Wales Welterweight Champion, proclaimed that Davies was a Welsh belt contender.

He followed this loss with a string of three wins, knockouts over Billy "Kid" Andrews and Trevor Burt, and then a disqualification decision over Jimmy Moore in Davies' first fight outside Wales, at the Stadium in Liverpool.

Davies then won a string of five victories before closing the year with a draw against Fulham based Harry Watson and a points loss to Frank Duffy at the Stadium in Liverpool.

He then took on and won three fights in June 1943; beating Jock McCusker at the Drill Hall, Bridgend, Trevor Burt at the Cardiff Arms Park and Lefty Satan Flynn at Willenhall in the Midlands.

[4] A contest was arranged for the Wales title between Davies and Merthyr fighter Tommy Smith, to be held on 31 July 1943 at St Helens in Swansea.

A crowd of 8,000 turned up to watch the title fight, which was a one-sided affair, the referee stopped the contest in the sixth after Smith took eight counts in that round.

He had steadily been working through the other contenders and on 20 March Davies and Hawkins met in Birmingham in a match that would bolster the winner's claim for a title shot.

Then on 26 April, two days after the Knock fight, Davies was back in London, at the Royal Albert Hall for a return bout against Hawkins.

[7] It took three months for the return bout to take place, and although not billed as a contender eliminator, for Davies a loss would affect his claim at a title shot.

He then started 1945 poorly, losing for the first time to 'Satan' Flynn on their fifth encounter, at the Alexandra Theatre in Stoke Newington on New Year's Day.

[9] After a win against Frankie Jackson in February, Davies found himself being mentioned again as a contender for the British Middleweight title.

[9] The current holder, Jock McAvoy had relinquished the belt, so the British Boxing Board of Control sanctioned two eliminator fights to decide who would challenge for the vacant title.