Keyshawn Davis has been a standout prospect among the crop of young, talented American boxers since transitioning to the professional ranks after securing silver at the 2020 Olympics. Friday’s clash with WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk was supposed to be about 25-year-old Davis’ attempt to capture his first world championship but has taken a significantly nastier turn as the fight has approached.
At Thursday’s press conference for the fight, Davis accused Berinchyk of a racist act, claiming he had bananas and a watermelon delivered to his hotel room. Berinchyk’s camp didn’t respond to the accusation at the press conference beyond claiming Davis and his team were looking for any edge to hype themselves up for the bout.
Another young, American fighter either trolled Davis or subtly took credit for the act when Teofimo Lopez shared a clip of Davis discussing the incident before the camera panned to Lopez eating a banana and laughing.
Whatever the reality of the incident is, it’s ugly and should have no place in boxing, let alone the world.
Stripping away that ugliness, Davis vs. Berinchyk is a battle between two fighters who made good on successful amateur careers.
Just like Davis (12-0, 8 KO), Berinchyk is an Olympic silver medalist, winning his medal in the 2012 games. And, just like Davis, Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KO) has yet to taste defeat as a professional. But Berinchyk claims that Davis lacks the same level of experience and that it’s that experience that will define Friday’s fight.
“I have 350 fights and wins in amateurs,” Berinchyk said at the press conference. “I have more than 500 victorious street fights, and I have one bare-knuckle fight, also victorious.”
Davis, already on edge from earlier in the presser, fired back at the suggestion.
“All that s— you talking about, I don’t care. I’m going to f— you up, Friday,” Davis said. “I don’t care about none of your experience, amateur experience, I don’t care about your silver medal. I don’t care about none of that, I’m going to f— you up Friday.”
This will be the biggest test of Davis’ young career. Berinchyk held a secondary WBO title from December 2017 until he was given the opportunity to fight for the vacant world championship against Emanuel Navarrete in May 2024, taking the title by split decision over the three-division world champion.
Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the undercard with the latest odds before getting to a prediction and expert pick on the main event.
Berinchyk vs. Davis fight card, odds
- Keyshawn Davis -700 vs. Denys Berinchyk (c) +475, WBO lightweight title
- Xander Zayas -750 vs. Slawa Spomer +500, junior middleweights
- Jared Anderson -1600 vs. Marios Kollias +850, heavyweights
- Rohan Polanco -1800 vs. Jean Carlos Torres +850, welterweights
- Vito Mielnicki Jr. -380 vs. Connor Coyle +280, middleweights
- Abdullah Mason -1600 vs. Manuel Jaimes +850, lightweights
- Nico Ali Walsh -700 vs. Juan Carlos Guerra Jr. +450, middleweights
- Keon Davis -4000 vs. Ira Johnson +1300, welterweights
Prediction
While Berinchyk is a solid fighter, there’s nothing in his game that is particularly spectacular. He is a bit awkward and unorthodox in his attack, which can trouble opponents and his amateur bona fides do speak to a solid technical base and understanding of the game, but it’s hard to see anywhere Berinchyk is better than Davis. Also, it’s worth noting that Navarrete was undersized and tried to come up one weight class too far to chase a world title in a fourth weight class, meaning Berinchyk didn’t have to win his belt by taking out one of lightweight’s elite fighters.
Davis is fast and is finding his power more and more as he finishes the transition from amateur to professional. He’s now a much more dangerous fighter than he was in his disappointing 2023 bout with Nahir Albright, which he won by majority decision before the result was overturned to a no contest after Davis failed a drug test for the presence of marijuana metabolites.
Berinchyk may find a bit of early success before Davis’ jab starts to dictate how the fight plays out. Once Davis gets rolling, he should fully take over the fight but Berinchyk is likely too crafty to get stopped before the final bell. Pick: Keyshawn Davis via UD
