Keyshawn Davis feels he's already ticking the boxes as a world-class martial artist

Just before winning number 11, beating Miguel Madueno in Newark, Keyshawn Davis discussed his options with Elliot Worsell.

ASK any professional boxer if he's ready for a title shot and the answer will always be, without a doubt: “Yes.” It will always be “yes” regardless of what day they are asked, regardless of their age, regardless of their experience, and regardless of whether they deserve to be shot or not. After all, winning the title is the goal of many boxers. Not only that, to express the slightest doubt when asked about challenging another is to show weakness that is not acceptable in a game like ours.

So it should come as no surprise that Keyshawn Davis, one of boxing's greatest fighters, feels ready for his next shot. That he's only had ten fights so far, and that he only turned pro in 2021, doesn't matter to a man like Davis; a man whose talent is matched only by his self-belief.

In fact, as is often true of the best talents, there is a danger with Davis that the longer he waits to be challenged, the more likely complacency will set in and threaten to derail what has been a good thing so far. run to the top. For some fighters, the challenge – i the original the challenge – the wait itself. Davis, for example, despite only having 10 fights, boasts a catalog of freshman achievements – including a silver medal at the Olympics in 2020 and silver at the World Championships in 2019 – that not only puts him in a good position as a professional but allows him to. to entertain the possibility of immediate follow-up.

“I feel like I tick all the boxes,” he said Debate News before his next fight on July 6 against Miguel Madueno. “I feel like I'm ready right now. But [Miguel] Madueno is a good fighter, a good boxer, and this will be a great fight. “

Rather than sounding frustrated, or indeed impatient, Davis, by reiterating his desire to fight for a world title as soon as possible, is simply following the trend of hope; that is, to say what he feels people think he should, 10-0, say. Whether he really believes he can find and win the world title in July 2024 is neither here nor there. It's Davis's, just something to say; something you have to believe.

“I feel like, since I'm 25, I'm not old but I'm old the oldest,” he said. “Like I said, I'm ready. This could be a world title fight, you know?

“I can study until the day I retire, it's not a question. i am always I will study. I am a student of the game. But as far as a shot at a world title, whether I'm ready or not, I'm ready right now. I don't need any more battles. I am ready for you.

“Whatever world title comes my way, I will take it. I've never been a world champion before at the professional level, so whoever's going to give me a shot I'm going to take.”

Suffice it to say there won't be a world title on the line when Davis fights Madueno in Newark this weekend. Instead, the lightweight pair will box for 10 rounds, and during these 10 rounds Davis will try to make a statement, either by stopping Madueno before the final bell or by winning each round so convincingly that his Mexican opponent is left with no choice. but to applaud him following the announcement of the decision. Either way, Davis sees Madueno as his next perfect opponent. Better yet, with a world title shot, he believes that Madueno (31-2, 28 KOs) could be the perfect preparation for what's to come.

“That's how I feel [Jose] Pedraza [Davis’ last opponent] he tried to ask me questions, but he didn't have the energy,” said Davis, 10-0, 7 KOs, with one No Contest. “With Madueno, we'll just see how big he is. I know I have some power in my fists. Maybe he will continue to come forward after feeling my power, but maybe not.

“I watched the fight between him and Steve Claggett [in November] and you're a good fighter, man. He has a high punch count, for sure. He has a good chin and knows how to take punches. You are tough. He will not look to lie down at all. He is also 26 years younger. I really think it will be a great fight; a unique experience for me in the professional ring. But he's definitely something I've seen before and I have to take it easy on him.”

If Davis treats Madueno the way he expects, the fighter from Norfolk, Virginia – the birthplace, by the way, of the great Pernell Whitaker – will be able to sit in his seat on the sidelines and watch Shakur Stevenson, his good friend, fight Artem. Harutyunyan defending his WBC lightweight title. That fight will likely be of some interest to Davis, too. It will interest him on the one hand because it exposes his fighting partner in front of the home fans in Newark, but also, on the other hand, because the fight brings together two men competing in the same division that Davis hopes one day. to rule.

Shakur Stevenson. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)

However, that does not mean that Davis is willing to fight Shakur Stevenson, the WBC champion, anytime soon. He has principles after all. Laws. Some honesty. Although he wants to reach the top, and quickly, the path he takes will be the one he has drawn himself. “We don't have to do something we don't want to do,” Davis said of a possible fight with Stevenson. “Shakur and I are family.”

If so, he'll probably look elsewhere for his chunk of lightweight gold. Fortunately for him, and, there are, at 135 kilograms, many options. If not Stevenson, there's always Gervonta 'Tank' Davis or even Vasily Lomachenko. Both currently hold the belts – Davis for the WBA; Lomachenko of the IBF – and both clearly represent the type of test that Davis, known as “The Businessman”, says he is ready for. “Tank and Lomachenko are the best right now in the lightweight division,” he said. “They have all the experience, all the battles, and they've been doing this for a long time and they've been winning. Both have been fighting at the top level for a long time. They will definitely be my two toughest opponents. “

Before reaching any of them, Keyshawn Davis's strongest enemy is one that doesn't have a character or a movie: patience. All he has to go on, in preparation, are the cautionary tales told by fighters who paved the way for him and, like him, had their patience tested while waiting for their first chance at a world title. For men like Vasily Lomachenko, a case like Davis's, this wait was short, and the Ukrainian got his shot at the WBO featherweight belt in only his second fight. However, for someone like Gervonta Davis, who recently won his 30th fight against Frank Martin, the opportunity to fight for the IBF super-featherweight title would not come until the 17th fight, which is the stage that 'Tank' was ready for.

Different minds mature at different rates, you see, just like a boxer's body. However, it is only through experience that a boxer will learn and appreciate this. Until that happens, the only language they understand is urgency. They must have what they want and they must have it now.

Keyshawn Davis, in that way, is no different than any other.