Keyshawn Davis could become a world champion less than four years after a touted amateur career that culminated with a 2020 Olympics silver medal for the United States.
Davis is set to fight WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk on February 14 at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, headlining a Top Rank on ESPN event, an official informed of the deal told BoxingScene on Thursday.
Also set to appear on the undercard is junior middleweight contender Xander Zayas against an opponent yet to be determined.
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) delivered a remarkable 2024 campaign, highlighted by a second-round knockout of Gustavo Lemos in a sold-out homecoming fight in Norfolk, Virginia in November. Earlier in the year, Davis, 25, also knocked out former two-division champion Jose Pedraza and secured a unanimous decision victory over the durable Miguel Madueno.
While Davis has called for more meaningful fights in recent months against Gervontra Davis, Teofimo Lopez Jr., Vasiliy Lomachenko, and amateur rival Andy Cruz, among others, Berinchyk was always believed to be his best route for a crack at his first world title.
Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) scored one of the upsets of the year in May, landing a split decision win against Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant 135-pound title he now holds. At the time, Berinchyk, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist for Ukraine, was making his United States debut and fighting for a world title for the first time as a heavy underdog. After the fight, Berinchyk, 36, called out Davis, and the two have seemingly been on a collision course ever since.
On Saturday, Davis was ringside in Phoenix for Top Rank’s show headlined by Navarrete’s comeback knockout win against Oscar Valdez for the WBO junior lightweight title. During an interview with ESPN’s Mark Kriegel, Davis began building up the bout, complimenting the crafty Berinchyk for his footwork, movement, and mental fortitude.
“I feel like Berinchyk has sneaky power, sneaky strength,” said Davis. “But I feel like people underestimate his IQ. I really feel like he goes in there, he thinks about what he’s going to do next, and he executes.”
Before his win against Navarrete, Berinchyk’s best win of his nine-year career came against Anthony Yigit via unanimous decision in August 2023, the fight before his career-defining night against Navarrete.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
