Keyshawn Davis won his first world title last Friday night, beating WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk by a fourth-round knockout in a Top Rank show on ESPN at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Easy Route
The 2020 Olympic silver medalist Davis hasn’t shown any motivation to take risks with his career. He refused to fight Andy Cruz and showed no interest in moving up in weight to 147, 154, or 160 to get the fights that would increase his star power faster. He’d rather stay at 135, hand-picking soft opposition like Denys Berinchyk, Miguel Madueno, and Jose Pedraza.
Keyshawn lacks the risk-taking we saw from past greats like Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns. Those fighters were already taking massive risks well before they reached 25. Leonard’s first fight against Hearns was at 25.
By the time Sugar Ray was Keyshawn’s age, he’d already fought these talents:
– Roberto Duran
– Wilfredo Benitez
– Andy Price
It’s hard to respect Keyshawn Davis and view him as a future face of boxing because he lacks the courage to take risks. Again, he won’t even fight Andy Cruz, and wants no part of fighting any other dangerous fighters at 135. Don’t mention him moving up to 154 or 160, where he should be, because he won’t do it.
Some casual boxing fans believe Norfolk, Virginia native Keyshawn is destined to be the next big star in the sport. However, he appears to be taking Adrien Broner’s route of taking easy fights, winning titles against beatable champions, and generating interest by trash-talking.
Keyshawn follows AB’s blueprint to the T, giving lots of interviews and acting up. But then, he never fights anyone dangerous. He’s trailing Broner, who captured his first world title at 22 and quickly accumulated another three with careful matchmaking. He made a lot of money and spent a lot. Davis can be that type of fighter.
“Keyshawn Davis at 25 years young after what he did on Friday, beating Denys Berinchyk after the fact that he had 14 fights on his resume [correction: 13],” said Ariel Helwani to DAZN Boxing, praising Keyshawn Davis for his win last Friday night against Denys Berinchyk.
“He’s a silver medalist in 2020. He’s turning 26 later this month with a smile that can light up a room. He has a story that can bring any dry eye to tears with charisma, skill set, and athleticism that every boxer on the planet dreams of. I feel this could be a future Face of Boxing.”
The problem that Keyshawn has that could prevent him from becoming the ‘Face of Boxing’ is that he’s quickly outgrowing the lightweight division. He’s unlikely to get a fight against Gervonta Davis or Vasily Lomachenko at 135. Those guys aren’t going to want to be a stepping stone to a gigantic lightweight who looks like a junior middleweight after he rehydrates.
If Keyshawn moves up to 140, there’s only one popular fighter in that division, Teofimo Lopez, and he’s never shown any interest in fighting him.
Empty Achievements
“That’s their thing. I think Keyshawn took the easiest route, and everybody knows that. Come on now,” said Floyd Schofield Sr. to MillCity Boxing about Keyshawn Davis choosing WBO lightweight champion Berinchyk to capture a belt at 135.
“You want to take an easy belt and then run up and take another easy belt. He’s into that. That’s a YouTube fighter. That’s not a legacy fighter. What Keyshawn is doing is grab a bell and jump up and fight another easy belt. ‘I don’t care about undisputed. I’m just going to grab a belt and run.'”
Keyshawn has been upfront about his goals in the sport – make money. He calls himself ‘The Businessman’ and has been selectively matched by his promoters at Top Rank. Davis doesn’t want to fight Andy Cruz, a fighter who beat him four times in the amateurs. The only risky name that he wants is Gervonta Davis, and that’s obviously because of the giant payday he’ll get fighting him
