The Fast Track to a Belt
The champions Keyshawn matched against at 147 are obvious. He’d likely be matched against WBO champion Devin Haney or the winner of the Ryan Garcia vs. Mario Barrios fight for the WBC welterweight title. The money Davis could make fighting Ryan or Haney would be immense.
“I’m going to tell you like this. I’m 26 years old, I see the boxing landscape, and I understand Shakur will be the 140 champ, and that’s my division,” said Keyshawn Davis to Insidethering Show, when asked what he’ll do if Shakur Stevenson defeats Teofimo Lopez to become the WBO light welterweight champion.
Turki Alalshikh can open the doors with his financing for the 2020 Olympic Silver medalist Keyshawn to get an immediate title shot against one of the 147-lb champions.
As Turki did with Terence Crawford at 168, getting him a title shot without having to risk getting beaten by the contenders, he can position Keyshawn to fight for a world title at welterweight.
Money Over Merit
Obviously, it wouldn’t be fair to the contenders at 147 or seen as sporting for Davis to be allowed to skip to the front of the line without risking his record, but the sport is being transformed from a merit system to one based on popularity. It’s making a mockery of how great boxing was in the past by turning into a professional wrestling-type situation.
“I feel like boxing is my division. I feel like I can do whatever I want to do, and I know what I want to do after I beat Jamaine [Ortiz]. I want to go to 147 and get a 147 title,” said Keyshawn.
If Keyshawn stayed at 140, he’d likely find that that division isn’t his. Fighting guys like Gary Antuanne Russell, Subriel Matias, Ernesto Mercado, or even Richardson Hitchins would be an eye-opener for him. By moving up to 147, Keyshawn can avoid the potential unpleasantness that those fights would bring to him.
At 135, he never showed interest in fighting his four-time conqueror, Andy Cruz. It wouldn’t have been a good career move for Keyshawn. Avoiding the talents at 140 by moving up to 147 right away, Keyshawn can stay out of harm’s way and keep his career going.
