Keyshawn Davis had a whole slew of excuses ready when asked why he wouldn’t fight his Cuban Andy Cruz in the pro ranks after losing to him x 4 in the amateurs. If you slice through all the excuses from Keyshawh, what is obvious is he’s afraid. He doesn’t lose to Cruz for a fifth time and have his career wrecked before he’s made his millions with Top Rank.
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) says he’s targeting big names like Gervonta Davis. He doesn’t consider the 2020 Olympic gold medalist Cruz worth fighting. Tank hasn’t shown interest in fighting Keyshawn yet, and it’s unknown if he ever will.
Excuses or Strategy?
– He’s two notches below
– Still needs to improve
– No fan base
– He’s not slick
– Backwards move
– Focused on fighting stars
– Cruz too flawed
– Doesn’t make business sense
Keyshawn is challenging WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk this Friday, February 14th, in the main event at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City. The event will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN+.
“The only fight I did watch was his pro debut. That’s the only one that matters. ‘Let me see how he’s going to be as a pro,’” said Keyshawn Davis to Fight Hub TV when asked what he thinks of Andy Cruz after watching him fight in the pro ranks.
“Of course, you’re going to develop and get better, but you know their character, how they’re coming as a pro, and their fighting style. He’s a slick boxer. He’s got a lot of amateur attributes still. I seen a little bit. He gets hit. He’s not as slick as I thought he was going to be.
“He’s really not that slick. He gets hit with jabs and all types of s***. ‘You good, but you still got a lot of work to do. So, there’s no real point in me entertaining you right now.’ He can keep talking about me because DAZN keeps talking on their platforms. They keep pushing that platform so hard.”
Cruz has looked better than Keyshawn in his five-fight professional career than he has in his 12 fights under Top Rank. It seems clear from watching the wo fighters that Cruz is the better prospect, but Matchroom is not giving him the same mad push as Top Rank is doing with Keyshawn. The reason that Top Rank doesn’t have Shakur Stevenson anymore. So, Davis is an Olympian that they’re going to put a lot of money into, hoping he can become a star, even if it’s a pseudo-variety.
The Unwanted Fight
“So, Andy Cruz, keep talking about me, so the DAZN platform keeps mentioning my name,” said Keyshawn. “But I’m not entertaining Andy Cruz until he puts the work in to actually look like something so we can sell the fight. The bro is 5-0. When I was 5-0, y’all was telling me, ‘You talk too much trash. You got to put some more work in. You’re not ready’ and all that type of s***.
“Bro comes from Cuba. He’s 5-0, and now you’re saying he’s ready to fight me. This s*** is backwards. Bro is from Cuba. Cubans need to be rocking with Cubans, but when it comes to Americans, Americans don’t rock with Americans. It’s so weird to me.
“When I was in the Olympics, I had America on my back. I was hoping I could win the gold medal. When I come to professional, I’m putting on crazy performances that is actually great for the sport of boxing. This one little leprechaun dude [Cruaz] come here, and y’all think he can beat me just because he beat me [x 4] as an amateur? Y’all crazy as hell.
“He’s got to put in my work. He doesn’t have a big fan base. I’m actually trying to fight guys that are stars in the sport, just like myself are higher. Me fighting Andy Cruz is like two steps down. It doesn’t make business sense right now for the businessman.
“I want to fight this dude. I want to beat his a**. Not only to shut everybody up, but to prove, ‘I will knock you out and that’s what’s going to happen.’ I try not to never let my emotions speak. I always use my wisdom first. It’s two notches down if I fight someone like Andy Cruz,” said Keyshawn.
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