In a matchup that has the makings of a spectacular fight, matters between Keyshawn Davis and Denys Berinchyk took an ugly turn at Wednesday’s final press conference ahead of their lightweight title bout Friday in New York.
For assembled media at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Davis said he was delivered a box of bananas and a watermelon to his hotel room, an act he called racist and accused Berinchyk or his team of committing.
“I want to address the fact that this guy came to America to give me bananas and a watermelon with a note on it,” Davis said of Berinchyk, who is from Ukraine. “It’s unprofessional, and I feel like it’s racist. And you just made this fight a little more personal. This man brought a box of bananas and a watermelon to America to bring to my room. I took it as racist. So, I got something for you.”
On his X social media account, Davis on Wednesday afternoon posted a photo of the package, which was accompanied by a note reading, “Here’s a snack for all those hight jumps stay energized businesswom..”
A few hours later, Davis, nicknamed “The Businessman,” followed up with another tweet: “It’s black history month Friday I’m doing it for the culture.”
Berinchyk, 19-0 (9 KOs), brushed off the accusations, claiming Davis, 12-0 (8 KOs), was ginning up controversy.
“I don’t speak English, and I don’t write English,” Berinchyk said through an interpreter. “I saw his message on social media. It’s weird even to mention this. Some people with bad intentions looking for some hype made that.”
At one point during the press conference, Davis’ trainer Brian “Bomac” McIntyre stood over a table displaying the box of bananas while holding up the watermelon for those in attendance to see.
“Ya’ll did it. It’s OK that ya’ll did it,” Davis said of Berinchyk and his team. “I’m going to whoop your ass for it. Just know what’s coming Friday night.”
In the aftermath, event promoter Top Rank released a statement addressing the issue: “Top Rank is appalled and disgusted by the actions of the individual(s) that delivered the package to Keyshawn Davis last night. These actions are contrary to the foundation of Top Rank. There is no place for this in sports or society. Keyshawn has our full support.”
Berinchyk, who most recently edged former three-division titleholder Emanuel Navarrete in a split decision win for a vacant lightweight title last May, seemed most interested in turning attention back to Friday’s fight.
“I never imagined myself fighting here,” said Berinchyk, whose most high-profile fight setting to date came in a decision over Yvan Mendy at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the Tyson Fury-Derek Chisora undercard in 2022. “But I’ve been working hard for 25 years to make my dream come true and accomplish this assignment.
“I have 355 amateur fights. I have more than 500 victorious street fights. I have one bare-knuckle fight that was also victorious.”
No matter the origins of the package, Davis – who was separated from Berinchyk by security more than once at Wednesday’s press event, calling him “racist” several times during their face-off – had struck on whatever he needed to work himself into a proper lather for the matchup.
“You’re not tougher than me,” Davis, of Norfolk, Virginia, told Berinchyk. “You can talk about all that bare-knuckle stuff. I come from what I come from. I’ve been doing this bare-knuckle shit outside the ring. So all that shit you’re talking about, I don’t care. I’m going to fuck you up this Friday.”
Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.
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