Over the years, over the decades, we have seen two great fighters who were best buddies fight one another (off the top of my head, I recall the Simon Brown-Maurice Blocker welterweight title from 1991, while going further back, Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Ellis were pals yet they fought each other; maybe you can list some more examples of two friends who rumbled in the ring……).
But one man who says he will never, ever fight his best friend is Keyshawn Davis. Davis, who ripped the WBO lightweight title from Denys Berinchyk on Friday night, says he is getting sick and tired of people asking him if, or when he will fight Shakur Stevenson. Speaking with The Ring, Davis said there is simply no way this fight will ever happen. Not ever.
“What you guys gotta realize is we knew this day was gonna come when we was amateur, bro,” Davis said. “And this question is really starting to get sickening, honestly, because I keep telling y’all the same s**t. But we knew this day was gonna come. We all knew that everybody was gonna want us to fight because we knew how great we are. But no, we’re never gonna fight, so y’all can just stop asking us that question.”
So there we are. No amount of money, no amount of fan-demand, no other kind of pressure will ever force Davis, 14-0(9) and Stevenson, 22-0(10) to fight. Right now, some fans point to Stevenson, the reigning WBC champion, as the best 135 pounder out there, while others say Davis is the man. As such, it is a shame this fight will never happen.
Still, there are plenty of other big and exciting fights out there for both unbeaten fighters. Case in point as far as Davis goes, how about a pro rematch with his amateur nemesis Andy Cruz? Cruz, 5-0(2) defeated Davis multiple times in the amateurs and fans would love to see a big fight between the two at pro level.
Now that he has won a world title (perhaps the first of many), might Davis feel the urge to try and get his revenge over the Cuban star in the making? As for Stevenson, he will of course be in action on this Saturday’s stacked card in Riyadh, against Floyd Schofield.
