Keyshawn Davis On Shakur Stevenson Fight: “When The Time Is Right”

Keyshawn Davis reiterated that he won’t fight his friend Shakur Stevenson, but he is open to an exhibition match, “YouTube-style.” He says people will want to watch him and Shakur fight an exhibition after they clean out the 135- and 140-lb divisions.

The “Exhibition” Excuse

For fans to be interested in watching an exhibition match between Keyshawn and Shakur, they would need to become popular with casual boxing fans. Unfortunately, neither of them is fighting quality opposition to gain attention.

WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) is routinely booed by fans in his fights, and Keyshawn has been selectively matched by his promoters at Top Rank his entire three-year pro career.

Keyshawn (12-0, 8 KOs) is massive for the 135-lb division, and he will have to move up soon because he looks like a boiled-down welterweight for his fights at lightweight. He’s scheduled to challenge WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) on February 14, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Berinchyk is considered the weakest link among the champions at 135, which explains why Keyshawn is being matched against him. He’s the only one he’s capable of beating. Even then, this is a 50-50 toss-up because Berinchyk is a much better fighter technically.

The only things that Keyshawn has going for him are his youth, massive welterweight-sized frame, and his being the A-side. The last item might be enough for Keyshawn to win. If Keyshawn had to fight where he belongs at 147, he’d be up against it, facing Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and getting divots punched through him.

I don’t know how on earth Keyshawn is able to melt down from welterweight. Younger fighters are able to drain down without it hurting them, but eventually, they can no longer do that when they reach their late 20s and early 30s. Until then, they game the system. If every sanctioning body had strict 10-lb rehydration limits, you would eliminate weight bullies.

“When The Time Is Right”

“They keep asking me to fight you. We can do an exhibition; that’s what we can do,” said Keyshawn Davis on social media, talking about fans wanting him to fight his friend, Shakur Stevenson.

“We can go YouTube style on these dudes real quick. Who is not going to watch it? They’re still going to watch the exhibition. They’re still going to watch it. We go exhibition on these fools when the time is right, and I’m going to let you know when the time is right,” Keyshawn continued about wanting to do an exhibition with Shakur. “You’re going to be like, ‘Yeah.’

“We’re going to exhibition these mother f**** and move up in weight, and then do the same thing. We’re about to clean out the [lightweight] division and move up in weight. How mad y’all be?

“Man and Shakur will beat everybody up. We just beat everybody, move up in weight, and never fight. Then, do it all over again at 140. That would be as funny as s***. Beat up all y’all favorite fighters. They going to be as sick as hell,” said Davis.

Keyshawn isn’t going to beat everyone at 135, nor is his friend, Shakur. Look at the way Keyshawn is picking & choosing his opponents. He’s NOT going after any of these talented fighters:

– Raymond Muratalla
– Andy Cruz
– William Zepeda
– Edwin De Los Santos

It’s probably that Keyshawn, 25, will soon leave the 135-lb division without even trying to fight any of those guys because the chances of him losing would be too high. He almost got beaten by Nahir Albright last year on October 14th. Albright staggered Keyshawn and dominated him in the last four rounds, wearing him down with pressure like Andy Cruz did in the 2020 Olympics.

The “Top 3” Myth

“The fans already know that the top three dogs have the same idea of who the top three dogs are in the 135-lb division. I’m alright with that with them putting me in that category at 12-0,” said Keyshawn, believing he’s one of the top three fighters in the lightweight division.

“The best 135-pounders is light-skinned [Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis,’ me and Shakur, period,” said Keyshawn. The best 135-pounders. Come on, bro. Call a spade a spade.

Keyshawn is getting way ahead of himself talking about being among the top three at lightweight because he still hasn’t beaten any contenders in the 135-lb division.

He’s not even close to being one of the top three lightweight fighters because he would need to beat contenders to reach that level. Keyshawn has not fought even one contender. He’s been protected by Top Rank in the same way Edgar Berlanga was when he was with that company.

Keyshawn’s Best Wins

– Gustavo Lemos: Non-contender, coming off a loss
– Miguel Madueno: Second tier non contender
– Nahir Abright: same
– Jose Pedraza: 0-2-1 record going into the fight
– Anthony Yigit: Non-contender

He’s making a big deal about fighting the smallish, weight-drained light welterweight Gustavo Lemos, who was coming off a loss to Richardson Hitchins and had to drain down from 140 to fight Keyshawn on November 8th.

Why did Keyshawn pick a short guy, Lemos, who fights at 140, coming off a defeat, as his opponent? I have a pretty good idea. This was flat-out old-fashioned cherry picking. When a fighter selects someone from a division above to drain down to fight them, it’s intended to gain an advantage because the guy is weakened. It’s sneaky, but it works.

Casual fans or ones without critical thinking ability are impressed and aren’t able to put two and two together to figure out that they’re being tricked. Keyshawn could have fought his four-time conqueror, Cuba’s Andy Cruz, who beat him in the 2020 Olympic finals and refers to him as “My son.” Cruz volunteered to fight Keyshawn, but he chose Lemos. What does that tell you?