Trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre says his fighter Keyshawn Davis believes he can beat superstar Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis right now.
BoMac states that the unbeaten, highly ranked Keyshawn (10-0-1, 7 KOs) has already called out Tank Davis, but he’s not being talked about because he has only ten fights under his belt as a pro.
Need for Stronger Competition
The real reason fans don’t talk about Keyshawn is the low-level opposition he’s been fighting and the fact that he looked marginal when his promoters at Top Rank stepped him up against fringe contender Nahir Albright.
What Keyshawn needs is to fight these killers to put him on the radar of Tank Davis and Vasily Lomachenko at 135:
- Andy Cruz
- William Zepeda
- Raymond Muratalla
- Edwin De Los Santos
- Floyd Schofield
Keyshawn Davis, the 2020 Olympic U.S. silver medalist, is ranked #3 IBF, WBC, and WBO at lightweight and is close to challenging Tank Davis for his WBA title, provided he wants that fight.
If Top Rank wants to speed up the process, they can throw Keyshawn in with Andy Cruz, Zepeda, Muratalla, or De Los Santos to put him at the forefront of the boxing public’s minds.
Unfortunately, those guys might be too good for Keyshawn, and if that’s the case, Top Rank can cut bait, throw Davis overboard for the fish, and move on.
They can’t do that by matching Keyshawn against old veterans like Jose Pedraza and obscure fighters that even hardcore fans have never heard of, which is what Top Rank is doing now.
Unproven Potential
Tank Davis cannot be forced to face anyone, and even if Keyshawn rises to the WBA mandatory spot, it doesn’t guarantee him a chance to fight the Baltimore native unless he and his management want it.
“I’ve got a 135-pounder that can make some noise, and that’s where my concern is at Keyshawn Davis,” said trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre to Sean Zittel about his fighter, lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis.
BoMac needs to speak with Top Rank to insist they start matching Keyshawn against better opposition. He won’t be able to take their backdoor route to capture a world title at 135.
There are no weak champions at lightweight for Keyshawn to capture a belt against, as there was when George Kamabosos Jr. was holding three of the belts.
“They’re not talking about it because he’s only to ten fights, but the world knows he’s right there. He just called him out. So, I think he has in his mind that he can beat him,” said BoMac about Keyshawn believing he can defeat Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
Hardcore boxing fans are aware Keyshawn is ranked high, but not casual fans, who have no idea who he is, and it could stay that way if Top Rank continues to match him against the likes of Jose Pedraza and veteran Miguel Madueño.
“I’ll tell you like this: As long as he [Keyshawn] follows the game plan, he can win any fight out there. You got to think on the fly and adapt to the style that’s in there. That’s what makes a great fighter, adapting,” said BoMac.
Keyshawn is fighting next month against veteran Miguel Madueño on the undercard of Shakur Stevenson vs. Artem Harutyunyan on July 6th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The 25-year-old Keyshawn still isn’t headlining fights despite his Olympic pedigree and the hype that has gone into his career by Top Rank. At this point, it’s debatable whether Keyshawn will pan out.
Comparisons to Terence Crawford
Although some see him as a younger version of Terence Crawford, he hasn’t shown the aggressiveness to attack his opponents the way the Nebraska native did earlier in his career.
A timid quality about Keyshawn, even against weak punchers like Jose Pedraza, makes it difficult to see him becoming the next Crawford. Keyshawn doesn’t like getting hit and will do anything to avoid it.
Moreover, Keyshawn’s lack of desire to avenge his many defeats against Cuban Andy Cruz makes him a poor candidate to step into the shoes of Crawford.
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