The dark times Keyshawn Davis was going through in life reared its ugly head for the entire world to see last summer.

It was supposed to be another strong chapter in Davis’ ascending story.

His planned first lightweight title defense on June 7 against Edwin De Los Santos turned into an unmitigated disaster as he missed weight by 4.3 pounds, was stripped of his belt and the fight was later canceled.

The disastrous homecoming weekend continued the next day when Davis and his brother Keon were involved in a melee with Nahir Albright, an ex-rival who scored a 10-round majority decision win against Davis' other brother Kelvin earlier that night.

The demoralized Davis hinted at retirement after the fiasco, but a clearer conscience has allowed him to resume his career.

Now on January 31, Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) will make his 140-pound debut when taking on Jamaine Ortiz (20-2-1, 10 KOs) as the co-main event for The Ring 6 card at Madison Square Garden in New York.

During an interview with Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. on "Hall of Game," Davis opened up about the pitfalls he’s been dealing with in recent months.

"I feel like I outgrew 135, but if you want me to be honest, I'm going to be. During that camp [preparing for De Los Santos], I was going through a lot of mental struggles. And how I was going through it was literally drinking every single day," said Davis.

"In camp, I was basically drinking every single day. I was just hurt from the previous camp, and the one before that. Things were just lingering on. I was knocking out Gustavo Lemos and Denys Berinchyk with a bad mental. I was like, I can fight, I can do this, if I can just get to the fight, I'll be good. That was really the only reason I couldn't lose those extra pounds because I was just drinking."

Davis had a mea culpa after the De Los Santos saga, leading to changes in his immediate circle and ultimately, splitting from longtime coach Brian McIntyre.

"I feel amazing in this training camp," said Davis, who's now trained by Randell Trumell Johnson. "I took accountability for everything that I did and apologized for being wrong with every relationship that I had."

Despite the transgressions, Davis is confident he can crush the durable and tremendously game Ortiz, whose only losses have come in highly competitive decisions against Teofimo Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko.

"I feel like Jamaine is a hell of a fighter, he's just not on my level," Davis added. "I stop these guys when they are not on my level. I feel like I am going to stop Jamaine."