Keyshawn Davis is still bitter about Matchroom posting ‘unhappy son,’ seemingly using him as a prop to promote the talented 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz’s last fight against Omar Salcido on January 25.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
Matchroom Grudge
Cruz beat Keyshawn four times in the amateurs, making it look easy every time. Davis says it “wasn’t smart” for Matchroom to do that because now he won’t sign with them one day. Of course, why would Eddie Hearn need to sign Keyhawn when he’s got the guy who beat him four times in the amateurs?
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) is adamant that he won’t fight Andy Cruz, viewing it as a backward move for his career. Keyshawn feels he’s WAY ahead of Cruz (5-0, 2 KOs) because he has seven more fights as a pro than he does.
He says Andy has “A lot of work to do” to catch up to where he’s at now. He then says for the media to look at his record at a similar juncture when he was 5-0 and compare it to Cruz’s 5-0. It’s unclear if Keyshawn is serious because the opposition he was fighting in his first five bouts was nowhere near as good as who Cruz has fought.
For example, Omar Salcido would likely beat everyone that Keyshawn has fought in his 12-right professional career. Salcido would beat Gustavo Lemos, Nahir Albright, Jose Pedraza, and Miguel Madueno. Those are Keyshawn’s best wins as a pro.
Cruz repeatedly referred to Keyshawn as “My son” during the build-up to his fight with Salcido, who he schooled, winning a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision on the undercard of Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson.
Cruz’s constant mention of Keyshawn’s name probably helped him gain more attention than any of his 12 fights as a pro because those matches went under the radar because they were undercard matches.
“Backward Move”
“Matchroom, I didn’t like they posted ‘unhappy son’ because you never know. What if I wanted to sign with Matchroom?” said Keyshawn Davis to the media, talking about the promotion company trying to hype up a fight between him and his four-time conqueror, Cuban Andy Cruz.
“So, why would you actually do that? From a business perspective, that wasn’t too smart on your end. S***, we’ll never know now,” said Keyshawn when asked if he saw himself signing with Matchroom one day. “I’m going to keep being an unhappy son, fighting for a world title, making six figures,” said Davis about his fight against Denys Berinchyk.
“I was trying to tell someone else that,” said Davis when asked why he should go backward in his career by fighting Andy Cruz. “Bro, he don’t even speak English. What am I supposed to say to this dude? Am I supposed to push him or something? There’s nothing for me to say. I don’t walk with a translator.”
Keyshawn has got to have some excuse for why he won’t fight Cruz, and saying it’s a “backward” move works for sympathetic fans who buy into that explanation. You’d believe him if you’ve never seen the past four Cruz-Keyshawn fights in the amateurs.
The reality is that Keyshawn knows he’d lose to Cruz and have his career ruined before it even begins. He hasn’t done anything yet other than beating 12 tomato cans. He calls himself ‘The Businessman,’ which is code for, ‘I’m not taking no hard fights.’
“Honestly, bro, if you want my honest opinion, no,” said Keyshawn when asked if he wants to get his ‘lick back’ for losing four times to Andy Cruz in the amateurs. “No, I really don’t, but when the fight makes sense, I’m jumping on it because it’s going to sell. I’m not thinking about the bro.”
If Keyshawn believed he could beat Cruz, he’d fight him. A clash between him and Cruz would be a lot bigger than his previous 12 fights as a pro, and it would draw more attention than his February 14th title shot against WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk on ESPN. That fight has generated zero buzz. No one is talking about it, because Berinchyk isn’t popular and didn’t win an Olympic gold medal like Andy Cruz. He also didn’t beat Keyshawn four times.
“The only time I bring up his name is when y’all bring him up and I have to answer a question,” said Keyshawn about Cruz. “When the fight makes sense, I’m going to jump on the fight because it’s going to sell. I’m not jumping on it right now because it’s not going to sell.
“I’m going to knock Andy Cruz out. He’s already getting hurt by people right now. He already couldn’t turn that kill switch for his last fight [Omar Salcido]. I didn’t watch his fight, but I listened to what Bozy said. Bozy said he wasn’t ready. I listened to what Bozy said he said he couldn’t turn that kill switch.
“Go back and watch Keyshawn Davis at 5-0. He [Andy Cruz] was a great amateur. One of the greatest amateurs I’ve ever seen and one of the greatest amateurs I’ve ever been in the ring with. I don’t think he’s going to be a great pro. Me as a fighter. I’m going to be a great fighter, period. I didn’t have a great amateur style, but I still came out as an Olympic silver medalist. I still learned how to adapt to the amateur style and still did it on the highest level
Andy Cruz Not Ready?
“I’m a great fighter, period. I know how to fight. He’s got a lot of work to do. He’s 5-0,” said Keyshawn about Cruz, who is only seven fights behind his 12-0 and is already fighting better opposition. “Just because he’s out here saying, ‘My son this, my son that,’ that doesn’t make him ready for a fight.
“I’d be pushing up like, ‘What’s up, bro?’ Bro was on like, trying to shake my hand. I got to sign your autograph. I’d kill your a**, bro,” said Keyshawn about how he’d have been more aggressive than Cruz if he’d walked up to him after beating him four times.
