Why Keyshawn Will LOSE to Berinchyk

Today, Keyshawn Davis said on social media that he will be “unbelievably strong” on February 14th when he fights next. Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) is expected to challenge Denys Berinchyk next for his WBO lightweight title at Madison Square Garden’s Hula Theater in New York.

Davis doesn’t say how he’ll be stronger because he’s not known as a puncher. He’s more of a boxer, and the guys he’s knocked out have mostly been middle-of-the-road fighters. What Keyshawn is Berinchyk has too much talent to be overpowered by Davis, so it’s dumb for him to focus on that angle to win this fight. Berinchyk has beaten many strong fighters during his years in the amateur ranks.

Keyshawn chose not to take on his friend, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, for his belt because he didn’t want to fight him. He believes he’ll defeat Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) to capture his WBO belt and then use the title to get fights against Gervonta Davis and Vasily Lomachenko. It sounds like a pipe dream.

The stuff that Keyshawn comes up with sounds like some wacky daydreaming with no chance of ever happening in his career and is completely unachievable. He’s not even trying to position himself through the logical steps to get the fight with Tank or Loma by beating Andy Cruz or Edwin De Los Santos. He thinks that by beating Berinchyk, those popular stars will want to fight him. The fights will just come to him like gravity, forcing them into his lap without taking risks.

If Keyshawn does get his hands on the WBO belt, he’ll defend it against whatever little-known contender Top Rank can dig up for him, but it won’t be Tank or Loma. That ain’t happening.

The Backdoor Champion

Those guys aren’t going to fight Davis, but it’s not because they’re afraid of him. They’re both heading for retirement and will focus on popular fighters that casual boxing fans have heard of. Keyshawn is completely unknown to the casuals.

Top Rank was fast-tracked by the 2020 Olympic silver medalist, Davis, who moved him into a title shot without having him work his way there, fighting any top contenders at lightweight, like Andy Cruz or Edwin De Los Santos. It’s referred to as the ‘Backdoor method’ that promoters use for fighters they don’t want to take risks with.

If they believed in Keyshawn, they’d have tested him against Cruz and De Los Santos. They obviously know what could happen to Davis if he fought either of those two talents, and it wouldn’t be good for him. It would be a replay of Keyshawn getting beaten in the 2020 Olympics.