Keyshawn Davis showed up and showed out when he scored a sensational sixth-round stoppage victory against former titleholder Jose Pedraza in February.
The scorching hot performance from the lightweight upstart Davis (10-0, 7 KOs) has now set up another slugfest, against Miguel Madueno (31-2, 28 KOs) on July 6. The bout will be televised on ESPN during WBC lightweight titleholder Shakur Stevenson’s defense against Artem Harutyunyan at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
While Pedraza was 35 years old and fading fast, the hard-hitting Madueno, who is 25 years old, like Davis, will be looking to live up to his nickname of “Explosivo” when he brings his 90 percent knockout ratio into the ring.
“He has power and likes to throw a lot of punches, but I’ll be fighting differently and smarter,” Davis told BoxingScene. “He’s tough and is coming to fight. He’s going to bring the fight to me. It’s going to be a crowd-pleasing fight that ends in my favor. I never have a problem with confidence. The Pedraza fight taught me a whole lot about myself. I got a lot better off of that fight. I feel bad for Miguel.”
Davis believes he is ready to make the leap just 10 fights and three years into his pro career. The 2020 Olympics silver medalist said he is ready for top competition at 135 and 140 pounds.
Davis is signed to Top Rank, and he has a healthy diet of potential dance partners to consider should he look good moving past Madueno.
Chief among them are Teofimo Lopez Jr., Vasiliy Lomachenko, Emanuel Navarrete and Raymond Muratalla. Davis and Stevenson are close friends and have ruled out the thought of ever fighting against each other, while Lomachenko appears all in on fighting Gervonta Davis.
“A fight between Teofimo and I would sell on pay-per-view,” said Keyshawn Davis, who has recently been beefing with Lopez. “I’m willing to fight on his terms. It’s whether or not he wants to make the fight happen. My name is definitely bigger than [his June 29 opponent] Steve Claggett.”
Mexico’s Madueno is a seven-year pro whose two losses have come against Claggett and Jezzrel Corrales via unanimous decisions.
“I’m a main event fighter now. I would love to headline my own event by the end of the year,” said Davis.
“This generation has a lot of talent, and everybody is beatable. We don’t know who’s the best yet. Everyone is losing, and the playing field is starting to get even. And I am ready to put myself in the mix. I know I am just as good as those guys – and better.
“Raymond Muratalla is calling me out, but I would rather prove myself with my back against the wall. It’s whether or not these top guys are going to fight me or not.”
Recently crowned IBF lightweight titleholder Denys Berinchyk called out Davis following his upset win over Navarrete in May, and Davis believes that could be the optimal route to getting his first title shot.
“I would love to fight and beat Berinchyk and take his belt away from him,” said Davis. “I hope he is willing to fight me. … I feel nobody can beat me. I am one of the best at 135 pounds. Pedraza made me show the world that I am one of the best. I am ready to fight anybody. It’s just a matter of when I can get a belt or a bigger name in the ring.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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