Promoter Eddie Hearn says Keyshawn Davis must fight and defeat his conqueror Cuba’s Andy Cruz if he wants a title shot against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis.
Keyshawn (12-0, 8 KOs) tried to take a sneaky backdoor route to a fight with King Tank by fighting select opposition and outswinging his Andy Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs), who, like Hearn point out, repeatedly schooled him in the amateurs, including in the 2020 Olympic finals. It was all Keyshawn could do to score one point against Cruz as he was dominated.
Hear: Keyshawn must face Andy Cruz
Last Friday, Keyshawn defeated light welterweight Gustavo Lemos with a third-round knockout in Norfolk, Virginia. Lemos lost his last fight against Richardson Hitchins on April 6, which made him eligible by being chosen by Keyshawn.
Losing was the way to be chosen. Sad but true. What kind of upside down world do we live in where Keyshawn picks on his opponents when they come off a poor performance rather than a win? It’s pathetic.
Hearn wants Keyshawn to show some backbone by facing Cruz to show the world he deserves a fight against Tank Davis because as things stand he doesn’t want to meet the Face of Boxing.
If Keyshawn loses, it’s not the end of the world. Look at it this way: Keyshawn has already lost four times to Cruz. It would only be loss number five, and he could then move up to 140 or preferably 147, so he could fight in a weight class more suited to his massive welterweight-sized frame.
Tank and his management are not going to be fooled the back door method Keyshawn tries to fight him. They want to see quality wins, not wins over substandard opposition.
“I love Keyshawn. I think he’s a great fighter and is getting better and better,” promoter Eddie Hearn told the mediakudos to lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis. “When a fighter comes in five pounds over or six pounds over or whatever it was, it’s not because they’re struggling with the weight. You know the camp and everything was torn down in that fight.
“So, I don’t think it was the same (Gustavo) Lemos who fought Richardson Hitchins, but I think that’s irrelevant. He (Keyshawn) broke him down, and that’s what you have to do sometimes. You have to go in there, and the crowd looked great in Norfolk, Virginia.”
Keyshawn did what any fighter in the lightweight division would have done if they were faced with a slow, unskilled fighter like Lemos last Friday night. He looked so bad. If Lemos had fought 20-year-old Abdullah Mason, it would have been the same result, but a much quicker knockout because he has more talent than Keyshawn.
Cruz schooled Keyshawn
“It’s great for boxing. Keyshawn is a great young fighter, and in time I think he will be a great fight for Gervonta Davis,” Hearn said. “But he still lost three times (correction: 4 times) to Andy Cruz, our fighter, and he never beat Andy Cruz. Jaron Ennis can also confirm it, and Bozy can confirm it because he trains Andy Cruz.”
You don’t need trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to confirm that Cruz schooled Keyshawn four times. It’s in the record books and on YouTube. It is part of history, and it will be there forever.
“So, I think if Keyshawn wants a fight before Gervonta Davis, we sign Andy Cruz. He took him to school three times (correction: four times), and he’ll be ready to do it again,” Hearn said.
Andy Cruz now 3-0 and has looked better and better with each performance.
KEYSHAWN DAVIS …. DON’T CONNECT THIS SMOKE. CRUZ WANTS YOU NEXT‼️‼️‼️
😤😤😤#Box
🤣🤣🥊🥊🥊— Danny (@dantheboxingman) February 25, 2024
