Promoter Eddie Hearn says he wants to make a fight between unbeaten Andy Cruz and WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis next. The Matchroom promoter, Hearn, states that Keyshawn (13-0, 9 KOs) doesn’t have anyone that is available for him to fight now other than his nemesis, Cruz (5-0, 2 KOs).
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
Keyshawn captured the WBO 135-lb belt last month, knocking out champion Denys Berinchyk in the fourth round on February 14th at Madison Square Garden in New York. Although Davis has talked about how being the new WBO champion will change his life in terms of big fights falling into his lap, like Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, it’s not happened.
Unless Top Rank can come up with a big enough offer to lure Pitbull, there’s no one popular enough for an interesting fight for Keyshawn. Maybe he doesn’t care. He’s never fought anyone popular since he turned pro and has spent much of the time talking about what life will be like when he beats Gervonta Davis one of these days. He’s always dreaming.
Keyshawn doesn’t want to build himself up to a fight against Tank by facing the top-rung talents. He just wants the fight given to him on a silver platter based on his wins over lower-level fighters.
Andy Cruz Fight
The most realistic fight for Keyshawn is Andy Cruz, his four-time conqueror, but he’s going to have to show some courage because he’s wanted no part of fighting the talented Cuban since he turned pro since he turned pro in 2023. Cruz has been calling him out from day one with no luck, and there’s no other way of looking at Keyshawn’s reluctance than flat-out fear.
He got whipped four times in the amateurs by Cruz, and he realizes that he’ll never beat him, no matter how big he gets. Keyshawn looks like he’ll be a middleweight soon, as he’s huge after he rehydrates for his fights. For his last fight against the tiny 36-year-old Berinchyk, he resembled a junior middleweight on the night of the fight.
Poor Berinchyk never stood a chance with a guy that big. It’s too bad all four sanctioning bodies don’t have a 10-lb rehydration clause like the IBF because it makes it impossible for fighters who are going up against weight bullies.
Cruz is ranked #1 WBC, #3 IBF, #3 WBA and #9 WBO. Interestingly, Hearn isn’t pushing for WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson to fight Cruz, but it’s understandable. Hearn is trying to line up the Gervonta Davis fight for Shakur, and the last thing he needs is for Andy Cruz to beat him before he makes that fight.
Eddie’s Push
“We want to push Andy Cruz into a big fight. There’s been a couple of conversations about a possible fight in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia or a Ring Magazine show,” said Eddie Hearn to @cesarseda. “We’d like to make a Keyshawn Davis fight. I look at the options for Keyshawn. Who is else there for him to fight that’s available?
“That’s a great fight as well,” said Hearn about Floyd Schofield being an option for Andy Cruz. “Schofield missed out on the Shakur Stevenson fight. Why not fight Andy Cruz? It’s a great fight. That fight would be in July, but we’d like to get him [Cruz] back a little bit sooner.
“Obviously, he just fought in January [against Omar Salcido]. May or June would be good for Andy,” said Hearn.
Floyd Schofield likely wouldn’t want to fight Andy Cruz because he’s got to know that Shakur Stevenson will look his way eventually and throw him a bone. He’s not going to want to mess up his chances of a payday against Shakur by fighting Cruz and getting schooled.
Last Updated on 03/17/2025
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