Keyshawn Davis predicts he will be the “Face of Boxing” and a multi-national champion and millionaire in five years. Unfortunately, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Davis (11-0, 7 KOs) has yet to show the talent that suggests he will be either of those things.
In his two toughest fights against Miguel Madeuno and Nahir Albright, Keyshawn showed weakness in dealing with pressure. These mistakes held Keyshawn back in the amateurs, causing him to lose repeatedly to Andy Cruz of Cuba. Keyshawn stresses out when he’s stressed out and breaks down mentally.
In five years, the 5’9″ Keyshawn, the biggest in the lightweight division, will no longer be able to melt down from welterweight. He will be forced to fight at 147, where he should be now, and will not be able to compete with the talented Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Davis faces light welterweight Gustavo Lemos (28-1, 19 KOs) on November 8 at Scopes Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
“First, I’m going to be a millionaire,” said Keyshawn Davis on Top Rank Boxing when asked where he would be in five years. “I will be world champion, of course. At the time he was a multiple world champion. I see myself. And, in five years, I think I will be the Face of Boxing. I’m dead serious. I think I’m going down that path right now.”
It is highly doubtful that Keyshawn would become a millionaire without defeating notable world champions such as Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson, or Vasily Lomachenko. However, Keyshawns chances of fighting any of these three are slim. None of these guys will fight him before he moves up to the lightweight division.
- Vasily Lomachenko: Loma is about to retire and won’t waste his time with a newcomer to the sport like Keyshawn, who has no real fans outside of Virgina.
- Gervonta Davis: Tank is in the PBC and is very selective about who he faces.
- Shakur Stevenson: Close friends with Keyshawn.
“Coming out of a fight like that, I changed the whole narrative about me,” Keyshawn said of his brutal, foul-filled performance against Miguel Madueno on July 6. “I’m like, ‘Mah, this kid can fight any of these guys.'”
I don’t know how Keyshawn can be proud of the way he fought Madueno last July because that was not an embarrassing game for him. He was nervous, trying to cope with Madueno’s pressure. Keyshawn reported that he uses roughhouse tactics to stop stress.
“I’m 11-0. In five more years, that’s maybe 10 more fights, 13 more. That’s going to be crazy when I’m 20-something and 0. I think I’ll be the Face of Boxing or thereabouts. I think about it like this.
“You got Canelo, you got Terence, you got Gervonta, you got Inoue. All these guys are considered Face Boxing. We found our own way to get there. It’s about to get there.”
Keyshawn sounds cut off from reality because he’s not aiming to be a Face Boxer. Either way, he’s headed for tough times after being forced to move up to 147 and facing victims of that division, who will take advantage of his inability to handle the pressure. Keyshawn struggles when pressured and stays put.
“Me against Vasily Lomachenko. I feel like I will be pushing him back most of the time. I am fast, agile, and strong. I feel that he is not as good in going backwards as he is going forward. I got the size and all the features to do that.
“I think I will stop him because I have found the power. You are watching my last fight. You hurt me, man [Madueno] with a hook, and he was trembling. I got that one shot to get you out of there,” Keyshawn said.
In five years, Keyshawn could be down and out if he continues to perform like he did in his last fight against Miguel Madueno. He struggled under Madueno’s pressure and turned the fight into a grappling match.
I don’t know how the referee didn’t eject Keyshawn because he looked like he should have been DQ’d with the WWE techniques he was using. Ironically, WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. he fights on the undercard instead of the main event.
Keyshawn sells tickets, so due to his uncertain future, he’s on the undercard, where he lives. He didn’t show the kind of talent that would show he could win a world title.
It is unclear why Lemos was forced to drop from 140 to take this fight at 135 instead of naming Keyshawn’s old enemy, Andy Cruz of Cuba, as his opponent.
Could there be concern that Keyshawn will lose to Cruz again? Cruz beat Keyshawn four times in the rookies and made it look easy.
Top Rank is banking on the career of 25-year-old former lightweight contender Keyshawn, hoping to come out on top after Cruz defeated him in the 2020 Olympics final.
They will have to decide soon what to do with him. In his fight with Nahir Albright last October, he looked bad when Top Rank gave him a slight edge.
Albright staggered Keyshawn in the fight round and swept the final four rounds of the fight. That fight was a red flag that Keyshawn was not what others thought he would be.
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