Keyshawn Davis wouldn’t call it looking ahead but more so, planning out his future.
In just a few weeks, The Ring’s No. 5 ranked lightweight will have his first crack at a world title when he takes on WBO champion, Denys Berinchyk.
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) knows that the Ukrainian is dangerous but getting past him is essentially guaranteed in his mind. If he does, he already has his eyes set on another Ukrainian fighter who just so happens to be a part of the same promotional banner.
“I would love to fight (Vasiliy) Lomachenko,” said Davis to FightHype.com recently. “He’s with Top Rank, we on the same side of the street. He’s a great fighter, legendary fighter.”
Lomachenko’s future in the sport is incredibly cloudy. Following a close and somewhat controversial defeat to Devin Haney in 2023, The Ring’s No. 2 ranked lightweight took a protracted break. While doing so, retirement crossed his mind.
Ultimately, the smooth Ukrainian opted against hanging up his gloves and went on to take his frustrations out on George Kambosos. Davis isn’t the biggest fan of Kambosos’ skills but he does admire his toughness. So, after Lomachenko beat him mercilessly, Davis admitted that he looked as good as ever.
“He’s hot right now. He just stopped Kambosos, a person that's never been stopped before.”
Visualization has been a powerful tool for Davis. And so far, his career has played out exactly the way he was expecting. As he continues to put in the work for his upcoming title shot, he took a moment to sit back and use his imagination once again.
It’s a dark Saturday night in an arena filled to the brim and Davis is standing across the ring from Lomachenko. Things are tense as they stare at one another. Once the bell rings, he doesn’t foresee some sort of chess match taking place. Instead, the first picture that comes to mind is an all-out bloody war.
“I feel like me and Lomachenko fight stylistically would be crazy. We got that mentality where it’s like, we're not losing no matter what.”