There’s a reason why Keyshawn Davis took the difficult route.
The amateur pedigree was already there, so Davis saw no point in following the monotonous footsteps of his peers. In just second pro fight, he took on Richman Ashelley, a one loss journeyman. The end result was a stoppage win. A few fights later, Davis took on another one loss fighter, this time, it was Esteban Sanchez. The results was much of the same as Davis scored another knockout win.
Top Rank, the promotional banner he fights under, continued to throw him to the wolves, and each time, Davis walked out of the wilderness just fine. Now, with barely 10 fights under his belt, The Ring’s No. 5 ranked lightweight will get his first shot at a world title when he takes on Denys Berinchyk on February 14th.
On paper, the 36-year-old WBO champion should be the toughest fight of Davis’ career. He might be forced to head to the deep end but swimming with bloodthirsty sharks is something Davis enjoys. He’s so confident, in fact, that he’s already planning his next move. Once he gets his hands on a world title, he won’t waste any time gazing at his shiny new toy. Instead, he’ll simply tuck it away and look to grab a few more.
“I would love to unify with one of the champions after I beat Berinchyk,” said Davis to MillCity Boxing. “We’ll see if one of the champions wanna fight me.”
Davis isn’t scared of anyone, but he isn’t willing to fight every 135-pound belt holder. Shakur Stevenson, The Ring’s No. 3 ranked lightweight and WBC titlist, is good friends with Davis. Actually, calling them just friends is somewhat of a disservice. They're more like brothers. Simply put, blood couldn’t make them any closer.
Fighting Stevenson is off the table right now, in a month, in a year, and pretty much ever. Wrapping that green and gold belt around his waist doesn't bother Davis though. The rest of the division’s straps are gorgeous and their title holders are fighters that he has no problem rumbling with.
“Tank a champion, Berinchyk a champion, Lomachenko a champion. There’s fights out there. I would wanna unify with any of the champions after Berinchyk, other than Stevenson.”