Promoter Eddie Hearn wants to see WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis fight Andy Cruz, and Shakur Stevenson battle Gervonta Davis. The winners of those two fights would then meet to decide who is the top dog at 135.
That plan doesn’t look likely to happen. First, Keyshawn (13-0, 9 KOs) says he “won’t fight Cruz for pennies.” He expects big money, and that’s not going to happen. He says if the money isn’t there at 135, Andy Cruz will have to fight him at 140 after he moves up. That’s if the fight pays.
Keyshawn’s Demands
Cruz isn’t popular enough for Top Rank or ESPN to offer more dough for that fight than what Keyshawn has been getting against the 13 no names he built his record on. None of the fighters Keyshawn has fought have been well known. Cruz (5-0, 2 KOs) is in the same boat. He’s also fought obscure opposition, and Hearn isn’t giving him a big promotional push like he’s doing with Shakur.
Davis, 25, recently captured the WBO lightweight title from Denys Berinchyk on February 14th, knocking him out in the fourth round. After rehydrating for that fight, he looked giant, dwarfing Berinchyk in size. Keyshawn looked like a rehydrated middleweight inside the ring that night. I don’t know how he ever made weight.
“I’d like to see Shakur Stevenson against Gervonta Davis and Keyshawn Davis against Andy Cruz. The winners fight the winners,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype.
“I want to fight Andy Cruz before I go [up to 140]. I’m not fighting him for pennies,” Keyshawn said on Shawn Porter’s YouTube channel about Andy Cruz. “He’s not getting money for that s***,” Davis said when told that Cruz is WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson’s #1 contender.
“I’m going to fight him [Cruz] for the same amount of money I fought. No, sir,” said Keyshawn about him not being willing to fight Andy Cruz for the same amount of money he’s made fighting the 13 other guys he’s built his record on.
So there it is. Keyshawn won’t be fighting Cruz before leaving the 135-lb division. That’s a good thing for him because Cruz would school him just like he did in the amateurs the four times they fought.
No Money, No Fight
“You have a Latino fighter [Andy Cruz], who doesn’t speak English, that isn’t from America. He’s very hard to promote. That’s why we’ve heard Keyshawn’s name dragged around because there’s no way to promote him specifically because there are no ties to the American networks or to the people that watch boxing [Note: Cruz fights on DAZN].
“That’s why they associate everything [reminding fans Cruz holds 4-0 record against Davis]. Keyshawn is right. If it makes pennies [paying the same money as his past 13 opponents], it don’t make sense. You might have to pull him up to 140],” said Porter.
“I agree. If it don’t make money, it don’t make sense,” said Keyshawn. “If we can make a lot of money at 140 instead of 135, he’s got to come up to 140. I can knock Canelo out, and they would be like, ‘I don’t know. That Andy Cruz kid. That Andy Cruz kid beat you four times in the amateurs.’ I just knocked Canelo out, bro. I got to get him,” said Davis.
Cruz beat Keyshawn all four times they fought in the amateurs. It sounds like Davis has come up with a good excuse to tell the fans why he will continue to avoid Cruz. Just tell the public the fight doesn’t pay. That way, he can preserve his unbeaten record for longer.
Keyshawn said on Porter’s channel that his promoters at Top Rank have someone for him to fight next. He wouldn’t say who it is, but the smile on his face suggested that he’s going to get the fight that he’s been asking for against Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz next. What a size mismatch that’ll be.
Last Updated on 03/05/2025
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