Keyshawn Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) used his tremendous size advantage to crush WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KOs), stopping him in a two-knockdown, fourth-round KO in Friday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
The 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn knocked the 36-year-old Berinchyk down with lefts to the body in rounds three and fourth. The fight was stopped at 1:45 of round four after Berinchyk was hit to the liver by a left from Davis.
Too Big to Fail
After the fight, Keyshawn called out IBF champion Vasily Lomachenko and WBA champ Gervont Davis. He has no chance of fighting either of them because they’re not going to want to fight a guy that rehydrates as big as a house, looking as massive as the top middleweights. Unless Turki Al-Sheikh comes out of the woodwork to the entire Loma and Tank to fight the massive-sized Keyshawn, he’s going to have to be satisfied with taking some regular fights against whoever Top Rank can dig up. He wants Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
That’s Keyshawn’s third option. You can only imagine the size differential between them. If Top Rank wants to pay Pitbull massive money, he might take the fight. He’d be stupid to do it unless Keyshawn attrees to a 10-lb rehydration clause. It’s not a good career move for Isaac Cruz to fight someone four divisions bigger than him.
Weight Drain & Win
Davis looked like he rehydrated to 160 for the fight, which explains why he appeared emaciated and death-like at the weigh-in on Thursday. He’s gone through hell to make 135 but then rehydrated to what appeared to be the middleweight division.
The WBO doesn’t have a 10-lb rehydration rule, but they need to follow the IBF’s lead and add one for the safety of the fighters. The sport is overrun with weight bullies, and Keyshawn appears to be one of many.
“There are two 135-lb champions that I would love to fight. If they have the guts to step in the ring with ‘The Businessman,’ tell them to send the contract. I’ll send them one,” said Keyshawn to Top Rank Boxing following his fourth-round knockout win over WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk on Friday night in New York.
“The antics that happened this week, they were fun to me,” said Davis about the bananas and watermelons that were sent to his hotel room that he mistakenly blamed on Berinchyk, calling him a “racist” in front of the entire world. The fight was even better. I got to realize all of that. Thank you; I got the fourth-round knockout.”
