Keyshawn Davis: Andy Cruz Isn’t Ready

Keyshawn Davis says a fight against Cuban 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz is a “priority,” but he “isn’t ready” to fight him. Davis (11-0, 7 KOs), who was beaten four times by Cruz, states that a fight against Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs) has to happen “at the right time.”

Some feel that Keyshawn doesn’t ever want to fight Cruz again after his bad experiences, losing him repeatedly in the amateurs. Cruz’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says he wants to make that fight, and he’s confident that his fighter would beat yet again.

Keyshawn can’t afford another loss to Cruz, so it’s understandable why he’s showing no interest in fighting him again. Cruz dominated him in his fights in the amateur ranks. The 25-year-old Keyhawn has been having problems beating the fighters that Top Rank matches him against.

It’s reasonable to conclude that Keyshawn will NEVER fight Cruz because Top Rank knows the end result of that fight. Moreover, Cruz is a major talent being fast-tracked by Eddie Hearn to a world title. Cruz is likely to be a world champion by 2025. He’s got superstar written all over him and is on a different plane than Keyshawn.

Keyshawn, unfortunately, doesn’t look like he’s going to pan out at the pro level, at least at 135. If he can move up to 140 or 147, he might be able to capture a belt in those thinned-out divisions, which are barren of talent.

They’ve been trying to develop Davis, but he’s struggling against guys he shouldn’t be if he were the real deal. Keyshawn’s fights against Nahir Albright and Miguel Madueno showed that Top Rank will have to be very careful with him to keep him from losing.

That’s obviously not what they counted on when they signed Keyshawn out of the Olympics. They had to have expected him to be able to hit the ground running without the extended development.

Next month, Keyshawn is fighting Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs) in a 10-round fight at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, on November 8. The event will be shown on ESPN+.

Keyshawn says he hand-picked Lemos after Top Rank offered him 38-year-old Nicholas Walters as an opponent for the November 8th date. He felt that he wouldn’t get any credit for beating Walters due to his age. Keyshawn may not have realized why he was being offered Walters. He had looked so poor in his fight against Madueno that it was understandable why Top Rank offered Walters.

This was the same thing after Keyshawn labored against Nahir Albright, getting staggered in that fight and barely winning. In Keyshawn’s next fight, Top Rank matched against the faded 35-year-old Jose Pedraza rather than continuing to move forward with a better opponent, which is what they would have done if he’d looked good against Albright.

“It’s definitely a priority. It’s just got to happen at the right time,” said Keyshawn Davis to Brian Campbell’s channel when asked about his interest in fighting 2020 Cuban Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz, who beat him repeatedly in the amateur ranks, resisting win after win.

“I don’t think he’s ready. We last reached out just like we reached out to Gustavo [Lemos]. We have already reached out to Andy Cruz and them. They said they don’t want to fight me now. I’m not lying. So, I did my part. He’s not ready. He’s definitely a priority. So, whenever he’s ready, whenever his promoter and manager is ready, we can make it happen.

“No,” said Keyshawn when asked if Cruz has lived up to expectations as a pro. “Think about me as a silver medalist. I got the boxing world heated right now. I’m not right now. Andy Cruz is like dull. He’s not hot. People aren’t rushing out their heat to go watch him fight.

“People still be in the concession stands when he’s fighting. He’s not on my level in terms of performing. He doesn’t perform like I perform, and that’s proof in the pudding. Go back and watch both our fights. He don’t perform like I perform,” said Keyshawn about Cruz.