Keyshawn Davis: I will be the face of boxing in five years

Keyshawn Davis predicts that within five years he will be the “Face of Boxing” and a multi-world champion and millionaire. Unfortunately, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Davis (11-0, 7 KOs) hasn’t shown the talent that suggests he’ll be any of those things.

In his two toughest fights in the pro ranks against Miguel Madeuno and Nahir Albright, Keyshawn showed a weakness in handling pressure. These flaws held Keyshawn back in the amateurs, causing him to lose repeatedly to Cuba’s Andy Cruz. Keyshawn stresses out when pressured and breaks down mentally.

In five years, the 5’9″ Keyshawn, enormous for the lightweight division, will no longer be able to melt down from welterweight. He will be forced to fight at 147, where he should be now, and will not be able to compete against the more talented Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.

Davis takes on light welterweight contender Gustavo Lemos (28-1, 19 KOs) on November 8 at the Scopes Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.

“First of all, I would be a millionaire,” Keyshawn Davis said Top Rank Boxing when asked where he will be in five years. “Of course I will be a world champion. Multi-world champion at the time. I see myself. Also, in five years, I think I’m going to be the face of boxing. I am dead serious. I think I’m walking in that lane now.”

It is highly doubtful that Keyshawn can become a millionaire without beating notable world champions such as Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson or Vasily Lomachenko. However, Keyshawn’s chance of fighting any of these three is slim. None of those guys will fight him until he outgrows the lightweight division.

• Vasily Lomachenko: Loma is on the verge of retirement and won’t waste his time on a newcomer to the sport like Keyshawn, who has no real fans outside of Virgina.
• Gervonta Davis: Tank is at PBC and is very selective in who he faces.
• Shakur Stevenson: Good friends with Keyshawn.

“After coming off a fight like that, I changed the whole narrative about myself,” Keyshawn said of his ugly, dirt-filled performance against Miguel Madueno on July 6. “I’m like, ‘Damn, this kid can fight any of these guys out here.'”

I don’t know how Keyshawn can be proud of how he fought Madueno last July because it was an embarrassingly poor performance for him. He was in panic mode and tried to deal with Madueno’s pressure. Keyshawn reported using roughhouse tactics to stop the pressure.

“I’m 11-0. In another five years it might be ten more fights, 13 more fights. It’s going to be crazy by the time I’m 20-something and 0. I think I’m definitely going to be the Face of Boxing or right there. I think about it that way.

“You have Canelo, you have Terence, you have Gervonta, and you have Inoue. All these guys are considered the face of boxing. We have our own way to get there. It’s just about getting there.”

Keyshawn sounds disconnected from reality because he’s not on his way to becoming the face of boxing. If anything, he’s headed for tough times after being forced to move up to 147 and face the predators in that division, who will take advantage of his inability to handle pressure. Keyshawn struggles when he presses and always has.

“Me against Vasily Lomachenko. I feel like I would push him back most of the time. I’m faster, I’m faster, and I’m stronger. I feel like he doesn’t go backwards as well as forwards. I have the size and all the qualities to do it.

“I think I will stop him because I have the power. You are watching my last fight. I hurt the guy (Madueno) with a hook, and he shook. I got that one shot to get you out there,” Keyshawn said.

In five years, Keyshawn could be down and out if he continues to perform like he did in his last fight against Miguel Madueno. He struggled badly under the pressure of Madueno and turned the fight into a wrestling match.

I’ll never know how the referee didn’t disqualify Keyshawn because he looked like he should have been DQ’d for the WWE tactics he used. Oddly enough, WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. is fighting on the undercard rather than the main event.

Keyshawn is selling tickets, so because of his uncertain future, he is in the main line rather than the undercard, where he belongs. He has yet to show the kind of talent that would indicate he can win a world title.

It’s unclear why Lemos is being forced to move down from 140 to take this fight at 135 rather than choosing Keyshawn’s old nemesis, Cuba’s Andy Cruz, as his opponent.

Could there be some concern about Keyshawn losing to Cruz again? Cruz beat Keyshawn four times in the amateurs and made it look easy.

Top Rank is putting money into the career of 25-year-old lightweight contender Keyshawn, hoping he will make it to the pro ranks after Cruz beat him in the finals of the 2020 Olympics.

They will soon have to decide what to do with him. In his fight against Nahir Albright last October, he looked terrible when Top Rank gave him a small walk.

Albright staggered Keyshawn in the fight round and swept the final four rounds of the fight. That fight was a red flag that Keyshawn is not what some thought he would be.