Hearn To Keyshawn Davis: Beat Andy Cruz Or Forget Gervonta Davis

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Promoter Eddie Hearn says Keyshawn Davis must fight his conqueror Cuba’s Andy Cruz and defeat him if he wants a title shot against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis.

Keyshawn (12-0, 8 KOs) has been trying to take a sneaky backdoor route to a fight with King Tank by fighting hand-picked opposition and swerving his Andy Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs), who, as Hearn points out, schooled him repeatedly 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.

Hearn: Keyshawn Must Face Andy Cruz

Last Friday, Keyshawn defeated light welterweight Gustavo Lemos by a third-round knockout in Norfolk, Virginia. Lemos had lost his last fight against Richardson Hitchins on April 6th, which made him eligible to be chosen by Keyshawn.

Losing was the way to get picked. Sad but true. In what kind of upside-down world do we live in where Keyshawn picks his opponents when they’re coming off a poor showing 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 the way things are now, he doesn’t rate to meet with 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. This would just be loss number five, and he could then move up to 140 or preferably 147, so he can fight in a weight class that is more suited to his massive welterweight-sized frame.

Tank and his management aren’t going to be fooled by the backdoor method Keyshawn is trying to take to a fight against him. They want to see quality wins, not victories over substandard opposition.

“I love Keyshawn. I think he’s a great fighter and is getting better and better,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to the media, praise to lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis. “When a fighter comes five pounds over or six pounds over or whatever it was, it’s not because they’re struggling at the weight. You know the camp and everything is broken down in that fight.

“So, I don’t think it was the same [Gustavo] Lemos that fought Richardson Hitchins, but I think that’s irrelevant. He [Keyshawn] demolished him, and that’s what you’ve got to do sometimes. You’ve got 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’d been fed a slow, non-skilled fighter like Lemos last Friday night. He looked so bad. If Lemos had fought the 20-year-old Abdullah Mason, it would have been the same result but a much faster knockout because he’s got more talent than Keyshawn.

Cruz Schooled Keyshawn 

“It’s great for boxing. Keyshawn is a great young fighter, and in time, I think he’ll be a great fight for Gervonta Davis,” said Hearn. “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 that, and Bozy can confirm that 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’s part of history, and it will always be there forever.

“So, I think if Keyshawn wants a fight before Gervonta Davis, sign us up for Andy Cruz. He took him to school three times [correction: four times], and he’ll be ready to do it again,” said Hearn.




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