No matter how many times he tried, Keyshawn Davis never quite got over the Andy Cruz hump.

The first time it happened, it could’ve been viewed as a fluke. The second and third time, it became a pattern. But after losing to Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs) for a fourth time in the amateurs, Eddie Hearn no longer wants to hear the excuses.

As a talent, the longtime promoter reveres Davis’ skillset but he’s bemused anytime The Ring’s No. 5 ranked lightweight goes on a rant claiming to be a better fighter than Cruz. The evidence, simply put, is too much to ignore.

“Keyshawn is one of the best lightweights in the world,” admitted Hearn to Matchroom Boxing. “But he has never and he will never beat Andy Cruz.”

Unpolished and underdeveloped is what Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) mostly points to. He turned pro before his amateur rival, nevertheless, and has a head start. In the coming weeks, the former Olympic silver medalist will challenge for his first world title when he jumps into the ring with Denys Berinchyk.

He might be looking ahead to his matchup with the lightweight division's WBO champion but Davis, sometimes, looks in the rearview mirror. He becomes apoplectic when Cruz refers to him flippantly as his son.

Davis can’t change the past but he can shape the future. A matchup between them is essentially inevitable, as long as they continue to win. If and when it does happen, Davis promises to make Cruz eat his words with his fist and prove that the pro game is completely different.

The amateurs and pros aren’t one and the same but the results, however, will be.

“He owned him every time they stepped in the ring. People talk about the amateurs is different to the pros. Granted but it doesn't matter. He will own him again.”