Keyshawn Davis Vows to Face Andy Cruz Before Moving Up in Weight
Newly crowned WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis has expressed his determination to settle unfinished business with former amateur rival Andy Cruz before considering a move up in weight class.
The 25-year-old American boxer recently claimed the WBO lightweight title with an impressive fourth-round victory over Denys Berinchyk. This achievement marks Davis’s first major championship in just his 14th professional fight, a feat second only to Vasyl Lomachenko in the 135-pound division.
While Davis, now 13-0 with 9 knockouts, is eyeing unification bouts, he acknowledges the importance of facing Cruz, 5-0 with 2 knockouts, before moving up to the 140-pound weight class. Cruz, a highly skilled Cuban boxer with a stellar amateur career, has yet to fully establish himself at the world-class level in professional boxing.
The potential matchup between Davis and Cruz carries significant intrigue due to their history in amateur competition. Cruz defeated Davis four times as amateurs, including a memorable victory in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics final. However, Davis maintains that these decisions could have easily gone his way, suggesting that Cruz’s amateur style may have influenced the judges.
Davis expressed confidence in his ability to defeat Cruz in the professional ranks, stating, “I think he’s just not ready yet; he’s got a lot of grooming to do in this sport. I gave him his flowers for being a great amateur, but when it comes to the sport of boxing and being a professional, I’m great at that.”
The Olympic silver medalist added, “When the time is right, I will fight this man. But I’m not thinking about what happened in the amateur days. I know he didn’t beat me. I would love to fight him just to shut everybody up. I will knock him out in the professional ranks.”
While Davis has plans to eventually move up to the super-lightweight division in the coming years, he has indicated his willingness to remain at 135 pounds if a showdown with Cruz materializes.
