Keyshawn Davis has confirmed today that his next fight will be against WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk who will challenge for his belt. The date and venue are still to be decided.
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) already knew he was facing Berinchyk for his title before his last fight with Gustavo Lemos on November 8. Top Rank had scheduled a WBO fight for Keyshawn vs. Lemos to determine the Berinchyk bond.
Clout Chasing
Interestingly, Keyshawn is still using the post-fight consultancy to call out WBA champion Gervonta Davis. That means he was just chasing cheap attention. Keyshawn recently used Gervonta’s name to help him get more attention from the fans, which is a bit ironic when you think about it.
Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) recently won the vacant WBO 135-lb title with a 12-round split decision over Emanuel Navarrete on May 18. That would have worked better for Top Rank if Navarrete had won because that would have set up a better matchup in between. home with Keyshawn. Berinchyk vs. Keyshawn will probably not be a big fight.
It would look even better if Keyshawn wrestled with his four-time winning streak, Andy Cruzinstead of the 36-year-old Berinchyk, who is not very fast and not very young. Keyshawn’s excuses for not fighting Cruz are that “He’s not ready yet” and “That man’s not trying to fight me. I’ll get him out.”
Cruz then responded to those words by saying that he wanted a fight. Cruz made it clear that Keyshawn made a whole story about him not wanting to fight him.
The WBO Title Won’t Help Keyshawn
Keyshawn wants to be champion so bad, but he doesn’t want to go through Andy Cruz for the belt. He believes that getting his title shot will open the door to a big payday where he will face WBA lightweight champion, Tank Davis. Keyshawn might play it safe because taking the WBO belt from Berinchyk won’t make Tank want to fight him.
What will happen Keyshawn will rot by title, fighting verbal opposition until he could no longer make the 135-lb weight limit. That might be soon because he’s like a welterweight now. He will not be able to continue struggling from the 150s to fight at lightweight for six to ten years, waiting for the King of this division, Tank Davis, to fight him.
Bernardo Osuna: “It starts with you at the highest level. Now, he becomes the WBO mandatory challenger for Denys Berinchyk’s title. What has been the conversation since your big stint with Top Rank, and what’s next for you?
Keyshawn Davis: “I won’t give up the place yet, but for sure, Denys Berinchyk is my next opponent. He’s an undefeated fighter, a pressure fighter. He’s from Ukraine and he’s a friend of Lomachenko and Usyk. He’s a great fighter.
“I feel like you are sleeping. It’s crazy. Last year, we had to fight him, but since he is the world champion, everything is fine. I feel like going into this fight, it’s going to be another good fight.
“This is not a boring fight. I know that people will come out and support us and see what the ‘businessman’ will show that night.”
If the fight is for Norfolk like Keyshawn’s last against Lemos, Berinchyk may have no chance at all. If it goes to the scorecards, do you think the judges will give it to the visiting fighter? I don’t want to. Berinchyk was nearly robbed in his last fight against Navarrete on May 18 in San Diego, California. Most fans had Berinchyk winning 10-2, but one judge scored for Navarrete. That was crazy.
Berinchyk-Navarrete scores
115-113: Berinchyk
116-112: Navarrete
116-112: Berinchyk
The title fight comes next @KeyshawnDavis8? 👀
(@OsunaESPN | @ESPNRingside) pic.twitter.com/hsJjnaixNl
– Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) November 18, 2024
