Lightweights Keyshawn Davis and Miguel Madueno made weight on Friday for their ten-round undercard match this Saturday, July 6th, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist Davis weighed 134.8 lbs, and Madueno (31-2, 28 KOs) weighed 134.7 lbs.
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Davis Makes Weight, Attempts to Intimidate Opponent
Keyshawn, 25, tried to get a reaction out of Madueno by putting his fist to his face during their face-off, but it didn’t work. Madueno did nothing, making Keyshawn look like a bully.
It would mean more if Keyshawn were fighting someone he wasn’t a huge favorite to beat, like Andy Cruz, his four-time conqueror, who is pure kryptonite for him. Top Rank isn’t about to match Cruz with Keyshawn and watch their fighter suffer his fifth loss to the talented Cuban.
After weighing in, Keyshawn told the media, “I’m the best at 135.” Unfortunately, Andy Cruz fights at 135, and fans will continue to view him above him until Keyshawn faces him and proves otherwise. The way that Keyshawn gets animated and flustered when Cruz’s name is brought up suggests that he knows he’s out of his league.
Keyshawn-Madueno will fight on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+. The event starts at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.
Davis’s Frustration with Matchmaking
“I can only do my job of calling these fighters out. I can’t go in there and match-make and promote,” said Keyshawn Davis to the media, explaining why he’s failed to step it up against better fighters yet.
Most boxing fans believe Keyshawn could push Top Rank into matching him against the killers at 135 if he wanted to, but he doesn’t ruin the good thing he’s got going with getting paid good money to fight soft prey.
Keyshawn talked about going house hunting after his narrow ten-round decision over Nahir Albright, a fight that appeared to be a draw last October. Albright hurt Keyshawn in that fight and had him cave in front the sixth round on, appearing to lose rounds 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
“So, whenever Top Rank wants to put me in with those guys, I’m ready,” said Keyshawn. “I’m ready right now. I was ready when I was 6-0. So, whenever they put me in with those guys, then you’ll see me in there.”
Keyshawn isn’t ready to fight any of the top five or some of the bottom ten-level fighters. I rate Keyshawn at this spot at lightweight:
- Gervonta Davis
- Vasily Lomachenko
- William Zepeda
- Andy Cruz
- Abdullah Mason
- Edwin De Los Santos
- Floyd Schofield
- Raymond Muratalla
- Denys Berinchyk
- Shakur Stevenson
- Mark Chamberlain
- Keyshawn Davis
“Whenever you put me in with those guys, that’s when you’ll see me,” said Keyshawn when asked when he would fight the talented Raymond Muratalla. “Muratalla, ain’t nobody can beat me. Starting from the top and going all the way down to the bottom.”
Top Rank’s Plans for Davis
Top Rank is expected to match Keyshawn against WBO lightweight champion Berinchyk in 2025 and cross their fingers that he wins that fight because his technical skills don’t match up with this guy’s.
It would be better for Top Rank to hold off on that fight and focus on preparing Keyshawn for a payday against WBA champion Tank Davis.
At least when Keyshawn loses to Tank, he’ll make a huge bundle and have a good excuse to tell fans, blaming the loss on him fighting the #1 guy. If Keyshawn gets beaten by Berinchyk, he will look bad in fans’ eyes because many of them have never heard of him.
Davis’s Irritated Response to Calls for Tougher Opponents
“Nobody is going to beat me. I’m the best at 135 right now, and it’s my destiny. So, you want to see me fight Muratalla? Okay,” said Keyshawn, getting irritated about the interviewer wanting him to be tested by another young talent.
“So, you want to see Muratalla get knocked out. I don’t care what he says. You want to see Muratalla get knocked out. That’s the truth. They want to see me fight everybody. I got to fight the whole boxing world. Don’t worry about it,” said Keyshawn.
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