Keyshawn Davis believes he will beat Gervonta Davis based on his superior size and technical ability. Undefeated #3 IBF, #3 WBC, and #3 WBO ranked lightweight contender Keyshawn (11-0, 7 KOs) says it will be “target practice” for him to take on the much shorter 5’5″ Gervonta (30-0) to fight , 28 KOs)
The 5’10’ Keyshawn says his defense, height and reach will negate the attack of WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Tank, who is a slow starter. Keyshawn sees the fight between them as similar to the 1964 clash between a young Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston, with him using his speed to dominate the slower, more powerful intimidator tank.
Top Rank has yet to make any moves to set up a fight between Keyshawn and Gervonta. The guys they’ve shown interest in matching Keyshawn with are WBO 130-lb champion Denys Berinchyk and IBF champion Vasily Lomachenko.
2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn fights Gustavo Lemos on Nov. 8 in the main event on ESPN in Norfolk, Virginia. It is unknown if Davis plans to move up to 140 anytime soon, but it would be a good idea because he will have more opportunities in that weight class. At 135, Keyshawn could be frozen out.
“Tank and I fight. I feel it is cautious. We all know what Tank got. He has that one shot to knock you out. So, that’s the only thing I’m looking forward to,” Keyshawn Davis said Top Rank Boxing about a fight between him and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
“I feel like with me, you have to look out for a lot (of things). My stitches are crazy. You see, I got that shot and the left hook or the right. You see my speed is crazy. My defense is crazy. I’m not saying that he doesn’t have any of those (things). I just feel like I have more weapons than him,” Keyshawn continued on his superiority to Tank Davis.
Keyshawn had a lot of trouble in his last against Miguel Madeuno in July of last year, dealing with the pressure put on him by the Mexican fighter, and he bent the rules by taking offense. Keyshawn appeared to be having flashbacks to his fight against Cuba’s Andy Cruz in the 2020 Olympics finals.
“That’s why he always comes out slow all the time. The only time he came out fast was against Leo Santa Cruz. So why did he lose the first five rounds?” Keyshawn said, responding to Bruce Carrington saying Gervonta got off to a fast start in his recent fight against Frank Martin.
“For me, it doesn’t come out quickly. (Jose) Pedraza came out quickly. The last guy (Miguel Madueno) hit fast. I have to be sharp with both of those guys. So, if I have a short guy at 5’5″, I’m 5’10”. I have longer arms than him. If I have a guy walking towards me with his hands up, that’s target practice for me , and you’re not just going to catch me. I have good defense.
“I feel like with me and Tank, there’s going to be a lot that he’s worried about with me. He’s not going to say that. I know boxing, and I also know myself. I feel like I’ll beat Tank too. I feel like it will be a Sugar Ray vs. Roberto Duran or Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston. That style fits. You have a boxer against a short, strong puncher. That style fits.
“I really compare it (Keyshawn’s dream fight against Tank) to Muhammad Ali against Sonny Liston, because Sonny Liston was the street guy, the intimidation, knocking everybody out. Nobody wanted to fight him,” Keyshawn said.
Sonny Liston was nothing like how Tank Davis fights now. Liston was in his mid-30s when he fought Clay, and he was slow but powerful. Keyshawn doesn’t move like a young Clay, and he’s not as calm as he was when pressured by his opponents. In Keyshawn’s fights against Miguel Madueno and Nahir Albright, he looked nervous when forced to trade.
“He was on top, and you have this Muhammad Ali kid who doesn’t care about anything that you all talk about. He knows how big he is. So, that’s how I feel about it (a fight between Keyshawn and Tank that is similar to how a clash between the young Ali, who still went by his first name Cassius Clay, in February 1964),” Keyshawn said.
