Keyshawn Davis appeared much more in control of his emotions when he weighed in Thursday afternoon at Madison Square Garden’s Theater in New York than he did during a contentious press conference Wednesday.
The same could not be said for Denys Berinchyk.
The unbeaten WBO lightweight champion remained calm while they posed for photos. Once Davis stood in front of him to flex his muscles, however, Berinchyk pushed Davis in his back and off the stage, which was slightly elevated from the floor.
Davis, who caught himself after one foot touched the floor, was not injured. He quickly hopped back up on the stage and went after Berinchyk, though security personnel and others kept them separated.
Once Berinchyk was ushered from the room where they weighed in, Davis spoke to Top Rank’s Crystina Poncher about boxing in his first world title fight Friday night at The Theater (ESPN; 9 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. PT).
“It don’t matter if I’m rattled, calmed down – he gettin’ knocked out in the first round tomorrow night,” Davis said. “So, he can say whatever he wanna say. If I’m rattled, OK, I’m rattled. If I’m not rattled, he still gonna get knocked out in the first round.”
Davis, 25, weighed in at 134.2 pounds, slightly less than when Berinchyk, 36, who stepped on the New York State Athletic Commission’s scale at 134.6 pounds a few seconds later.
DraftKings lists Davis (12-0, 8 KOs, 1 NC), of Norfolk, Virginia, as more than a 6-1 favorite to beat Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs), of Kyiv, Ukraine, in their 12-round battle between Olympic silver medalists. Berinchyk will make the first defense of a WBO belt he won when he upset Mexico’s Emanuel Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) by split decision in their 12-round match May 18 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
The official weights for the entire Berinchyk-Davis undercard are listed below.
ESPN; ESPN Deportes
9 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. PT
Xander Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs), San Juan, Puerto Rico, 153.2 pounds vs. Slawa Spomer (20-0, 11 KOs), Heilbronn, Germany, 153.2 pounds, 10 rounds, junior middleweights.
Vito Mielnicki Jr. (20-1, 12 KOs), Roseland, New Jersey, 159.4 pounds vs. Connor Coyle (21-0, 9 KOs), Derry, Northern Ireland, 158.8 pounds, 10 rounds, middleweights.
ESPN+
5:15 p.m. ET; 2 p.m. PT
Juanmita Lopez De Jesus (pro debut), Caguas, Puerto Rico, 113.8 pounds vs. Bryan Santiago (1-1-1), Weslaco, Texas, 113.6 pounds, 4 rounds, junior bantamweights.
Abdullah Mason (16-0, 14 KOs), Cleveland, 136.2 pounds vs. Manuel Jaimes (16-2-1, 11 KOs), 137 pounds, 8 rounds, junior welterweights.
Rohan Polanco (14-0, 9 KOs), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 146.4 pounds vs. Jean Carlos Torres (22-1, 17 KOs), Carolina, Puerto Rico, 147 pounds, 10 rounds, welterweights.
Keon Davis (1-0), Norfolk, Virginia, 149.2 pounds vs. Ira Johnson (3-2, 2 KOs), Las Vegas, 148.2 pounds, 4 rounds, junior middleweights.
Jared Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs), Toledo, Ohio, 256.8 pounds vs. Marios Kollias (12-3-1, 10 KOs), Patras, Greece, 235.4 pounds, 10 rounds, heavyweights.
Nico Ali Walsh (11-1, 5 KOs, 1 NC), Las Vegas, 157.2 pounds vs. Juan Guerra Jr. (5-1-1, 2 KOs), Chicago, 157.8 pounds, 6 rounds, middleweights.
Keith Idec is a staff writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.