Trainer Greg Hackett selects Keshawn Davis to take on WBO lightweight champion Denis Perinczyk in his next fight on February 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Hackett believes the 36-year-old Perincek (19-0, 9 KOs) is no longer at his peak and is perfect for Keyshawn (12-0, 8 KOs) by knockout.
Davis was not a knockout player, and was injured when he tried to knockout Nahir Albright. Berinchik has enough skills and strength to expose Keyshawn and show the fans that he is still the same fighter that Cuban Andy Cruz defeated four times.
Perinchik's technical edge
Top Rank is promoting Davis like crazy, trying to turn him into a star without putting him in a high-stakes fight against Cruise or some other killer.
They were wrong in their last fight involving Perinchyk when they pitted popular Mexican fighter Emanuel Navarrete against him, only to see the Ukrainian talent defeat him. Now it's Kishon's turn. If he loses this fight to Berinchyk, you can bet that Top Rank will keep his fighters away from him.
“Keshon had a tough fight in his last performance (against Gustavo Lemos). He's got a tough guy in front of him. This guy, Perinczyk, isn't nice, but he's not at his peak. He's past his peak. He's able to fight and all that,” coach Greg Hackett said. But he has passed his peak.” YSM Sports Mediatalks about WBO lightweight champion Denis Perincek, who will face Keshawn Davis next February 14.
“I think Keyshawn will tire him out and stop him in the eighth round. He'll work on him, though. Good jab, good right hand. Keyshawn in this fight is going to have to slow things down again. Don't go out there rushing out looking for the knockout. I don't I'd say he went out there looking for the knockout against Lemos.
“This happened because Lemos was forcing the action. In this game, Berinchyk is going to be a little more strategic. He's going to be poking at it a little bit. So in this one, (Davis) has to take his time, break it down, and go for it,” Hackett said. That body a little bit, sneaking some uppercuts in there, sneaking some hooks in there.”
Davis' win over Gustavo Lemos was due to him fighting a short, slow 5'5 1/2″ fighter who was coming off a loss to Richardson Hitchens and was drained from 140 to take the fight. Kishon hand-picked it. Davis saw Lemos being beaten by Hitchens.
Why not Andy Cruz?
These are the questions you should ask Davis: Why would you pick a fighter coming off a loss and fight at light welterweight? Andy Cruz was available at 135, and had already beaten Keshawn four times.
“Keyshawn is going to slow him down, and in the eighth round, he's going to stop him,” Hackett said when asked if this fight would make Keyshawn Davis a household name if he beats Berinchik.
“For family, he's going to need Teo (Lopez), he's going to need 'Africa' (Richardson Hitchens). He's going to need someone to be family. Someone has to be, 'Oh, okay.' That's, 'Oh okay, I see you, but I Need Oh, well.' 'You're not wrong,' Hackett said.
For Keyshawn to become a household name, he will have to beat these fighters:
- Gervonta Davis
- Shakur Stevenson
- Andy Cruz
- Edwin delos Santos
- William Zepeda
Unfortunately, Keyshawn probably won't fight any of these guys, so he may never become a household name. It will only be known to hardcore boxing fans. What he should do is move up to No. 147 and face Jaron 'Boots' Ennis to see if he can beat him. He's the same size as Boots, and if he wins, he'll be a household name.
Convincing welterweight?
Maybe he wouldn't, because Aeneas would defeat him, and he wouldn't want to risk it. Keshawn should fight at 147 because he is a welterweight. If Boots wanted to game the system, he'd do the same thing Keyshawn does by draining the count to 135 to fight smaller players, but he's brave and won't make a weak move like that.
“If he gives me two bodies, we lose another body. I need three. I want them to really back off,” Hackett said when asked if Keyshawn needs a knockout against Perinczyk. “That would be a good idea, though. Berinchyk will bring some tricks. That's why I say Kishon has to be patient.
Keyshawn is not a knockout, so Hackett got things wrong about him because he was never that type of fighter. His last KO was against Lemos due to him fighting a 5'5″ little guy with no hand speed who fought like Neanderthal man. He or any fighter was ordered to 135.
“Don't be greedy in this fight. Pick in your action. Don't be greedy. Not everything, but he's going to have to bring a couple of sets of equipment,” Hackett said of whether Davis will need to bring everything to defeat Perinczyk: “He'll bring everything, but he won't need the big bag, but he'll need a suitcase.”
Davis will get greedy and try to score a knockout against Perinczyk. That would lead to him getting cut like he did in his fight against Naher Albright, who sent him reeling in the eighth round when he tried to knock him out.
Cruise lessons
“He won't need to bring everything because you won't have everything in front of you,” Hackett said. “Sometimes, we think we need too much, but sometimes, all you need is a simple jab, a basic right hand, and a basic hook with good distance. Sometimes, that's all you need. It might take a little more than that.” But he won't need everything.
“That's what we think sometimes. He just needs a good, sturdy bag,” Hackett said, sounding like a Keshawn fan.
Davis will need more than just a “schoolbag” to beat Perinczyk because this guy is a technically better fighter than him, with much more experience than both the amateurs and the pros. Keshawn was discovered by Cuba's Andy Cruz, who defeated him for the fourth time at the 2020 Olympics. He once again exposed him for being a limited fighter who is little more than a puncher.
