#1 Keyshawn Davis predicts he’ll knockout WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk in 10 days on February 14th at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) has never been a knockout puncher during his short pro career or in the amateur ranks, but his recent second-round KO of the slow, short 5’5 1/2″ Gustavo Lemos on November 8th last year has given him the belief that he’s a power guy.
Keyshawn is huge for the 135-lb division, looking as big as welterweight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis when he rehydrates for his fights at lightweight. That could be the reason why he knocked out Lemos. Davis, 25, looked two divisions bigger than the tiny Gustavo in that fight.
Tank’s Radar?
Berinchyk has real skills, though, and if Keyshawn tries to blast him out, he could be embarrassed like he was in his four losses to Andy Cruz and his poor performances against Nahir Albright and Miguel Madueno.
Those fights showed that Keyshawn needs to be protected and kept far, far away from high-level opposition unless it’s a cash-out situation against Gervonta Davis. It’s okay for Keyshawn to fight because the money would make it worthwhile after he loses.
Tank may give him the same treatment as he’s done with Vasily Lomachenko, treating him like a leper to be avoided. If that turns out to be the situation, hopefully, Keyshawn doesn’t spend the next four to six years hounding him or using his name for clout.
That would look so bad. Keyshawn mentions him too much instead of carving out his career by fighting Andy Cruz, Raymond Muratalla, William Zepeda, and Ernesto Mercado. In other words, the fighters that would likely beat Keyshawn.
“The Businessman” Brand
“Right now, y’all don’t know how great I’m going to be. Y’ll just know that The Businessman is going to be great,” said Keyshawn to Sean Zittel. “Right now, y’all don’t know how great I’m going to be. Y’ll just know that The Businessman is going to be great,” said Keyshawn about the nickname he’s given to him, which is likely code for him being selectively matched and steered away from dangerous opposition that would beat him.
“My coaches. We been working on things on things like that,” said Keyshawn when asked where he learned how to throw ‘sneaky body punches.’ “I didn’t come into the professional rankings knowing how to land those body shots. working with ‘BoMac’ [McIntyre], he upped my game, upped my level. My coaches put that into my arsenal.”
Fans haven’t seen any greatness since the 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn turned pro in 2021. He’s faced limited opposition, such as Jose Pedraza, Gustavo Lemos, and Nahir Albright.
Those are not true top-15 contenders at lightweight. Top Rank has seemed hesitant to match Keyshawn against dangerous opponents who could potentially expose him, such as Andy Cruz, William Zepeda, and Raymond Muratalla.
Keyshawn’s performances against Albright and Miguel Madueno were so bad that it would have been insane for Top Rank to throw him in with Zepeda, Andy Cruz or Edwin De Ls Santos and watch him get beat. He’s not shown the kind of talent to beat those fighters. Keyshawn is still the same fighter that Cruz beat four times in the amateurs.
Nothing has changed. The only difference is that his promoters are matching him carefully against beatable opposition and even picked the weakest link among the champions at 135. They aren’t crazy enough to throw him in the deep end with one of the sharks and watch their investment go down the drain.
At this point, Keyshawn is just another creation, just like former Top Rank fighter Edgar Berlanga. He’s a smaller version and much more of a self-promoter/braggart.
Teofimo’s League
“Round one,” said Keyshawn to the media when asked what round he’ll knockout Berinchyk. “These guys are running for me. I don’t know when I’m going to get Teo [Lopez]. I’m tired of chasing. I made my own lane. I made y’all believers [the media]. Now, I’m walking down my own lane. If Teo happens to come down my lane, he’s going to get stepped on too.”
Why would Teofimo Lopez want to fight Keyshawn? The two aren’t fighting in the same weight class, and there’s nothing for him to gain from that? Davis isn’t popular and still hasn’t fought anyone good in his four-year pro career. If Keyshwwn wants to prove himself at 140 to get a fight against Teofimo, he needs to move up and defeat Ernesto Mercado.
I don’t think Keyshawn would ever fight Mercado because he’s too good, but that would be the way to prove himself worthy of a title shot against WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez instead of begging for it after beating Gustavo Lemos.
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