Andy Cruz expects Keyshawn Davis to beat Jamaine Ortiz on January 31.

Davis’ rival nevertheless senses that the former WBO lightweight champion still needs to learn from failing to make weight and having his first title defense canceled at the 11th hour, yet he isn’t convinced he grew from that career-altering experience seven months ago.

Cruz (6-0, 3 KOs) is much more focused, of course, on his own lightweight title fight against IBF champ Raymond Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Davis, who went 0-4 against Cruz as an amateur, is his most appealing potential opponent, though, and the Cuban has a vested interest in how he fares against Ortiz on “The Ring 6” undercard at Madison Square Garden in New York next week.

“I think it’s gonna be a really good fight,” Cruz told The Ring. “Jamaine Ortiz is a quality fighter. Technically, he’s very sound. But I believe that Keyshawn Davis has a great amount of talent. If he prepares well, he should win. And obviously, he has that family blood running through his veins, so he cannot lose.”

The last part of Cruz’s assessment was said in jest as he continually refers to Davis as his “son” due to his success against him. Cruz most notably defeated Davis in the lightweight final to win a gold medal at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Cruz realizes Davis wants a fifth fight with him. He is obviously open to making what would be his most marketable bout, but Cruz would have to move up to the junior welterweight division to make it happen.

“I’d say it’s a fight that he wants more than I want it,” Cruz said. “And I’d say it’s because for any son it’s always a dream to go one better than your father. But I think it’s a fight that he wants more than me, definitely.”

Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) will fight for the first time in 11 months when he squares off with Ortiz (20-2-1, 10 KOs) in the 12-round co-feature of “The Ring 6” card.

The Olympic silver medalist’s layoff lasted this long because he came in 4.3 pounds overweight for a contracted title defense against the Dominican Republic’s Edwin De Los Santos. Their championship bout scheduled for June 7 in Davis’ hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, was scrapped because De Los Santos’ former promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, wouldn’t allow him to compete because of safety concerns.

Davis worsened his predicament the next night when he got into an altercation with a former opponent, Nahir Albright, in his locker room at Scope Arena. Albright had beaten the previously undefeated older brother, Kelvin, by majority decision on the card Davis was scheduled to headline.

“I was very disappointed in his behavior because, of course, those are not the values I showed him,” Cruz said. “And I think an athlete needs to be professional both in and out of the ring. I think he didn’t show that last time. But I hope he can close this chapter and go on.

“I think he needs to improve on his attitude because he has that arrogance about him, and maybe he underestimated opponents at times. So, maybe I have to show him again what those values are and tell him where to go, as a good father.”

DAZN will stream the bout between Muratalla, The Ring’s third-rated lightweight, and the fifth-ranked Cruz as the main event of a show scheduled to begin Saturday at 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT.