Keyshawn Davis Cements Himself As Rising Star After KO Of Denys Berinchyk

Keyshawn Davis won the WBO lightweight title with a knockout of Denys Berinchyk.

Keyshawn Davis celebrates after defeating Denys Berinchyk to win the WBO lightweight title on Feb. 14, 2025 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

It was a crowning moment for Keyshawn Davis on Friday night.

Davis graduated from a rising prospect to a world champion with a fourth-round knockout victory over Denys Berinchyk at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Now, just 14 fights into his young career, Davis is a world champion in one of the better divisions in boxing at just 25 years old.

"I've been through a lot of trials and tribulations throughout my entire life," Davis said after the win. "I still had to go overseas [to] fight in Russia. I still had to go overseas and put on amazing performances so I could go pro and get an amazing contract for me and my brothers. So them antics that happened this week it was fun to me, but the fight was even better. I got to release all of that, and thank God I got the fourth-round knockout."

Keyshawn Davis is in elite company 👏 pic.twitter.com/surR89tpQ3

— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) February 15, 2025

Getting to fight night was a chore in itself. Davis and Berinchyk shared several contentious moments in the build-up to their title fight, as both fighters had to be kept from each other on numerous occasions, including at the weigh-in after Berinchyk nearly shoved Davis off of the stage. Davis was also a victim of a racist act when someone sent a box of bananas and watermelon to his hotel room.

But once Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) entered the ring, it was business as usual for "The Businessman."

After a pair of ugly rounds that were filled with clinching and referee Harvey Dock having to break them up, Davis finally broke through in the third round when he dropped Berinchyk with a left hook to the body. Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KOs) was more off-balance than hurt, but Davis picked up the pace from there and started to land more damaging shots, marking up the defending champion's face and bloodying his nose.

In the fourth round, Davis continued the onslaught and dropped Berinchyk for a second time with another left hook to the body. This time, Berinchyk didn't get up by Dock's count of 10 and Davis became the WBO lightweight champion.

KEYSHAWN DAVIS WITH A VICIOUS BODY-SHOT KO TO WIN THE WBO LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/puonj8Q1IR

— ESPN (@espn) February 15, 2025

Davis' ability to navigate a chaotic week and quickly solve the tricky puzzle that was Berinchyk to hand him his first loss as a pro cemented his status as one of the rising stars in the sport. And with Davis being in the lightweight division, there is no shortage of options for "The Businessman" to cement himself as one of the top names in the sport and a potential pound-for-pound great.

Davis could eventually look to avenge his loss in the Olympics when he lost to Andy Cruz in the gold medal match. Davis could also look to unify the stacked lightweight division, which also has Shakur Stevenson, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Gervonta "Tank" Davis as the other three major champions.

Keyshawn has said he doesn't plan on fighting Stevenson because of how close they are, and Lomachenko appears to be closer to retirement than taking on another big fight. That leaves a potential bout between Keyshawn and Gervonta, which is one of the best that can be made in the sport. Gervonta returns to the ring to put his WBA belt on the line on March 1 when he faces WBA junior lightweight division champion Lamont Roach Jr. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. NY.

"It's two 135 [pound] division champions that I would love to fight," Keyshawn said. "If they got the guts to step in the ring with 'The Businessman,' tell them to send me a contract, or I'll send them one."

Regardless of what's next for Keyshawn, he proved to be everything he was cracked up to be. And if Friday night was him just scratching the surface, stardom and being named alongside the current pound-for-pound greats may not be far off for Keyshawn.

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