When asked by his social media followers last Saturday night, Keshawn Davis dismissed the idea of a fight with newly crowned IBF lightweight champion Richardson Hitchens.
Richardson will be a pure problem because of his boxing skills, strength, pinpoint accuracy and mobility. His ring IQ is on another level than Keyshawn's, and he's capable of beating him like Cuban Andy Cruz has done four times in the past.
Lightweight contender Keyshawn (12-0, 8 KOs) feels he is a cut above Hitchins (19-0, 8 KOs) due to the recent fan turnout for his last fight on November 8 against Gustavo Lemos at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Attendance for Keyshawn's homecoming fight against light welterweight Lemos was 10,568.
Entrepreneur strategy
Davis sees the attendance numbers and his second-round knockout win over Lemos (29-2, 19 KOs) as indicators that he is one of the “elite” in the 135-pound division. However, the 5'5″ limo looked overweight after being hand-picked by Davis for this fight. This performance just showed that Keyshawn can be a tired, slow, undersized fighter who doesn't belong fighting at 135.
Keyshawn could have chosen a lightweight contender Andy Cruza fighter with a 4-0 amateur record, including in the 2020 Olympic finals, but he wanted Lemos. Interestingly enough, he was coming off a loss to Hitchens on April 6th.
Instead of Davis facing Cruz, he chose a fighter who had recently been beaten, and now brands himself as one of the fighters “elite” At 135. Here's a classic example of matchmaking 101: creating a Factory star. You can't blame Keyshawn for this hustle. The fans are the ones who can't see what's happening.
Hitchens looked amazing last Saturday night on December 7, as he outpointed light welterweight champion Liam Barrow (25-1, 15 KOs), winning a 12-round split decision at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The scores were 116-112, 116-112 for Hitchens, and 117-111. It's 10-2 for Hitchins.
“You're going to keep talking about Hitchens. F*** Hitchens. I don't care about him,” Keshawn Davis said on social media last Saturday after Richardson Hitchens' impressive performance against light welterweight champion Liam Barrow in San Juan, Puerto Rico. .
“Bro already knows what's up when it comes to me. I'm 12-0, with eight knockouts, about to fight for a world title (against WBO 140-pound champion Denis Perinczyk), 13-0. I'm knocking people out, I'm putting on crazy shows , and sell out arenas of 10,000 fans (Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia).
“What can you say, bro? 11,000 fans. You can't really say much. That's what I'm saying,” Davis said.
Keshawn says he will fight WBO lightweight champion Denis Perinczyk (19-0, 9 KOs) next February. This guy is seen as the weak link among the lightweight champions, but he has a good chance of beating Keshawn. And as we saw in the Davis vs. Naeher Albright fight, he's still the same fighter that Cruz defeated in the Olympics. He hasn't improved at all.
Keyshawn's success since turning pro in 2021 is a product of soft, Berlanga-esque matchmaking and him being bigger than the guys he was fighting.
Is Kishon elite?
“I've proven that I'm with the elites. I'm not just a fighter out here making noise. I'm with the elites,” Keshawn told Mark Kriegel. espn. “I'm selling, too. There were 10,000 fans there, and all 10,000 fans got a good view of who the 'businessman' was that night,” Davis said of his win over Lemos on Nov. 8 in Norfolk.
Selling over 10,000 tickets doesn't mean Keyshawn is a star. It just means that Norfolk fans are willing to come to watch him fight, which may reflect it being a city with little entertainment compared to bigger cities.
If Davis were from Los Angeles or New York, he wouldn't appeal to those cities because there are too many other sources of entertainment for fans. You must produce in those areas or have an amazing following like Ryan Garcia on social media.
