Last year was sort of weird for Keyshawn Davis. He breezed through Anthony Yigit, stopping him in the ninth round. He then won virtually every round against Francesco Patera. The end of his year, however, was when things got strange.
In October, Davis scraped by Nahir Albright via majority decision. He was then set to take on Jose Pedraza before his year came to a close. But, due to a positive drug test revealing marijuana use, Davis’ win was changed to a no-contest. He was also suspended.
With his suspension now lifted, Davis (9-0, 6 KOs) plans on picking up where he left off. In the co-main event slot on February 8th, the delayed showdown between Davis and Pedraza will take place.
At the age of 34, Pedraza isn’t the oldest fighter around but he’s seen better days. It’s been over two years since the Puerto Rican has joined the winner’s circle. That three-fight victory streak he was on feels like a million years ago at this point.
In 2022, Pedraza was forced to settle for a decision loss and a draw against Jose Ramirez and Richard Commey. A year later, Pedraza was beaten once again, this time by Arnold Barboza.
Beating Pedraza is one thing but doing so in style is something else entirely. In his five defeats, only once was Pedraza forced to say no mas. With Gervonta Davis being the only man to stop him dead in his tracks, Keyshawn Davis is aiming to do the same.
It’s nothing against Pedraza but more so an issue that Davis has with the rest of the boxing world. If he wants to plant his flag at the top of the mountain, he knows that he can’t afford any hirsute situations and no close calls. In short, he has to dominate.
“When I stop Pedraza, there’s no denying me,” Davis told Boxing Scene. “There’s no denying me.”
By Hans Themistode