Keyshawn Davis predicts he’ll score a “spectacular knockout” of WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) on February 14th in their headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) can’t see any way that he’ll lose to the 2012 Olympic silver medalist Berinchyk and is already talking about wanting to face WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis or IBF champ Vasily Lomachenko in a unification match.
It’ll be a massive disappointment for Top Rank if Keyshawn loses to Berinchyk because they chose to sign him over Andy Cruz following his loss to the Cuban in the 2020 Olympics. Fans are already second-guessing Top Rank’s decision to sign the loser, Keyshawn, rather than the ‘Diamond’ Cruz out of the Olympics. Eddie Hearn inked Cruz, and he’s fast-tracking him to a world title.
First 12-round Test
“I think it’s going to benefit me promotional-wise because this guy is an Olympian. He also is an Olympic silver medalist [2012],” said Keyshawn Davis to Ring Magazine about his fight against WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk on February 14th.
“This guy is undefeated at 19-0. He’s a Ukrainian fighter, he’s tough, and he’s coming to fight. It’s a style from the professional ranks that I never fought before.
“It’s my first time scheduling a 12-round fight. So, promotionally, it is definitely going to raise the bar for me. It’s my first time fighting an undefeated fighter as well,” Keyshawn continued. “So, once I get a spectacular knockout, it’s going to be another legendary night for ‘The Businessman.’ “
Holding a world title will increase Keyshawn’s popularity, especially if he looks good against Berinchyk. However, using roughhouse tactics throughout the fight, as he did in his win over Miguel Madeuno, could negatively impact his career.
Due to Davis’ grappling, that fight looked more like a professional wrestling match than a boxing contest. He was picking Madueno off the canvas to body-slam him, holding constantly, pushing, throwing rabbit punches, and desperate to keep from being knocked out.
If Keyshawn looks impressive, he’ll have pressure to fight his four-time conqueror, Andy Cruz of Cuba, and he’ll look like a craven coward if he chooses to avoid him, as he’s been doing since he turned pro.
“We have to get back to the drawing boards after I beat Berinchyk because that’s what’s going to happen. So, after I beat Berinchyk, the first person on the table, we’re going to send him a contract,” said Davis.
It’s not a foregone conclusion that Keyshawn beats Berinchyk because he’s not looked good in two of his fights as a pro. Then there’s the Cruz fight, and he looked mentally defeated in those matches.
It’s understandable why Keyshawn wants nothing to do with Cruz at the pro level after what he did to him in the amateurs, but it still makes it hard to predict a favorable outcome for his match against Berichyk.
“We’re going to do it like that. I can’t really tell you who I’m going to fight being realistic, and be like, ‘I feel like I’m going to fight Muratalla.’ I don’t know. We just got to wait and see,” said Keyshawn.
Eyes On Tank
“Honestly, I do. I feel like he would fight me before Shakur,” said Keyshawn about Gervonta Davis more likely to fight him rather than Shakur Stevenson. “I don’t know. He’s in his own world. So, we got to see what he’s going to do. He knows I’m going to fight him. So, I don’t have to keep preaching his name.”
It’s not likely that Keyshawn will get the fight against Tank Davis before Shakur. The interest from fans is Tank vs. Shakur, and Turki Al-Sheikh can easily make the fight happen in 2025. Keyshawn needs to increase his popularity by fighting these contenders:
– Andy Cruz
– Edwin De Los Santos
– Raymond Muratalla
– Frank Martin
– Floyd Schofield
– Joe Cordina
– William Zepeda
