Is Keyshawn Davis The Future ‘Face Of Boxing’?
Keyshawn Davis takes on Gustavo Lemos on November 8, with Bob Arum describing him as the future ‘face of boxing.’
The term ‘face of boxing’ has been thrown about against numerous fighters. Gervonta Davis referred to himself with that name after stopping Ryan Garcia. However, he then served 44 days in jail after breaking his house arrest conditions, harming his chances of claiming that name. Ryan Garcia was then given the tag after his shock win against Devin Haney.
Face Of Boxing
However, Garcia failed VADA tests for Ostarine, turning the fight into a no-contest. Garcia was then given a year ban. Canelo Alvarez is also seen as the face of boxing. The Mexican regularly produces big PPV numbers. But he has recently been accused of ducking the big names, namely David Benavidez. Now, Arum has suggested Keyshawn could take that mantle.
Davis boxes in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, for the first time. Arum says that over 7,000 tickets have been sold, with suggestions that the crowd will be over 10,000. The legendary Pernell Whitaker fought at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, as the crowd for Keyshwan’s fight could exceed the 9,150 for Pernall’s last fight. Keyshawn is 11-0, with seven knockouts to his name.
His biggest win was against Jose Pedraza. He followed up that win with a victory against Miguel Madueno in his last fight. This is the third fight for Keyshawn this year, making him one of the most active fighters. Davis is currently ranked in the top three in the IBF, WBC, and WBO rankings. He has called out Gervonta Davis, showing his desire to fight the best. Arum felt it was only a matter of time before Keyshawn became a star.
“I told the kid this himself, if he continues developing the way he has, he will be the face of boxing. He reminds me a lot of ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, who was the face of boxing in his time,” Arum said
Davis’ Aim
However, Keyshawn needs a big win to justify that tag. Tanks Davis has the Ryan Garcia win, while Shakur has a win against Oscar Valdez and picked up titles in three weight classes. There is also a narrative around Keyshawn that it is too early for him to face the biggest names. Davis and Shakur have been in world title fights, while Davis is still very new to that pressure. But a fight in his hometown will show if he can handle pressure. He is expected to put on a spectacular performance. Such pressure can break fighters, but Davis was confident he would put his city on the map.
“This event is bigger than us. I want to reach as many people as I can with this event so that the people from this town know that you can make it from here. There are resources here. And we’re bringing resources here, like a gym that kids can go to. I want this event to reach many people. I want the Seven Cities to be on the map, so they can be like Atlanta, New York, or Chicago,” Davis stated
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