Keyshawn Davis Accuses Berinchyk Of A Racist Act
Keyshawn Davis and Denys Berinchyk held a fiery final pre-fight presser before their clash on Friday.
Davis seeks to dethrone the WBO Lightweight Champion and gain his first-ever world title. Keyshawn arrives into the fight as an undefeated boxer with a 12-0 record. Davis has 8 knockouts to his resume, stopping Gustavo Lemos in his last fight. He is targeting bigger fights down the line, having named Gervonta Davis as one opponent. That would be with a view to getting a unification at 135. Other alternatives are to move up to 140 and 147 to become a multiple world champion.
Berinchyk is the champion, who is making the first defense of his belt. He picked up the vacant title by beating Emanuel Navarrete in his last fight. He came through with a split decision win, as it was tougher than it should have been since Navarrete moved up from 130. Berinchyk is the more experienced fighter and has trained alongside Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko. Keyshawn and Berinchyk had plenty to say in their final presser. Keyshawn accused Berinchyk’s team of a racist act, saying someone delivered a banana and watermelon with a note to him. Berinchyk denied those accusations.
Keyshawn’s Claim
“I want to address the fact that this guy came to America to give me bananas and a watermelon with a note on it. It’s unprofessional, and I feel like it’s racist. And you just made this fight a little more personal. This man brought a box of bananas and a watermelon to America to bring to my room. I took it as racist. So, I got something for you. Ya’ll did it. It’s OK that ya’ll did it. I’m going to whoop your ass for it. Just know what’s coming Friday night.
“It’s a real blessing. When he called my name out after he won his last fight, I had a feeling in my spirit that I was going to fight him for the world championship. I never thought it would be at Madison Square Garden. You’re not tougher than me. You can talk about all that bare-knuckle stuff. I come from what I come from.
“I’ve been doing this bare-knuckle stuff outside the ring. So, all that stuff you’re talking about, I don’t care. I’m going to [mess] you up this Friday. I don’t care about none of your experience or amateur experience. [And] I don’t care about your silver medal. I don’t even care about your watch, your belt, or any of that. I’m going to mess you up on Friday,” Keyshawn stated
Berinchyk Responds
“I don’t speak English, and I don’t write English. I saw his message on social media. It’s weird even to mention this. Some people with bad intentions looking for some hype made that.The first thing you need to do is make weight. And afterward, on Friday, we’re going to sort it out. Since winning my title, I’ve been training the entire time. And I was preparing for this defense.
“Nothing changed too much in my life. We have a war in Ukraine. So, unfortunately, my life didn’t change much. I never imagined myself fighting here. But I’ve been working hard for 25 years to make my dream come true and accomplish this assignment. I have 355 amateur fights. I have more than 500 victorious street fights. [And] I have one bare-knuckle fight that was also victorious,” Berinchyk said
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