Keyshawn Davis knows
Andy Cruz well from their amateur days. They met four times, including in the Olympic gold medal match in 2021. Cruz won each time.
And they appeared to be on a collision course as professionals until Davis moved up from 135 pounds to 140 and said he doesn’t plan to stop there, as welterweight champ Devin Haney has been in his sights.
However, that might not be the direction Davis goes if Cruz (6-0, 3 KOs) looks good in
his fight with IBF 135 champion Raymond Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) on Saturday at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on DAZN.
“Let’s just say, Andy Cruz knocks Raymond Muratalla out. Like OK, now we can fight,” Davis told The Ring’s Rick Reeno on the Mr. Verzace Podcast. “You just knocked Raymond Muratalla out? Forget that 147. Let’s see how we can make that fight happen.”
Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) also has some business to take care of himself: He’ll square off against
Jamaine Ortiz (20-2-1, 10 KOs) on the
Teofimo Lopez-Shakur Stevenson Ring 6 card January 31 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The 26-year-old hasn’t fought since his WBO lightweight title win over
Denys Berinchyk last February. He forfeited his belt last June, when he missed weight for his fight with
Edwin De Los Santos by 4.3 pounds and the bout was canceled.
If everything goes the way Davis envisions it at MSG and Cruz does well against Muratalla, he’ll have to make his decision: Pursue his amateur rival (probably at 140) or Haney.
Haney's pound-for-pound pedigree and name recognition make him an attractive potential opponent. And he and Davis are already engaging in a back-and-forth war of words.
“Right now, there’s a lot of buzz between me and Devin Haney,” Davis said. “That’s a mega fight for me so why not go to 147?”