Keyshawn Davis claims he would knock out Devin Haney if given the chance to fight the former two-division world champion. Davis (11-0, 7 KOs) says Haney doesn’t have the power to respect what he’s wearing and couldn’t stop himself from attacking.
Keyshawn’s punching power and the Crawford-esque The fighting style would be a nightmare for Haney if he couldn’t hold him down with clinching, jabbing and movement. Some see Keyshawn as the next Crawford and destined for greatness in the sport. Top Rank feels that way because they headline it and tune it right to make sure it doesn’t get beat.
Keyshawn, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist, thinks much of Haney’s success during his career was due to being bigger than his opposition at 135 and 140. In many fights, Haney looked huge in the ring after rehydration and it seemed that he had not done. He does not belong against his little opponents. Unfortunately, that’s how the sport is played now.
Younger fighters, who are able to shed huge amounts of water weight, choose to fight in divisions well below their frames. Then they find a way to regain over 20 lbs of water quickly. Who knows how they do it, but obviously, there are ways to game the system.
Until boxing solves this problem by making secondary weight mandatory on fight day, we will continue to see this type of thing.
Top Rank-promoted lightweight contender Keyshawn would need to move up to welterweight to fight Haney because that’s where he’s headed.
Much of Haney’s career shine came after his loss to Ryan Garcia last April, and he no longer receives the red carpet treatment once he had received. It’s like Haney is no longer one of the royals, he’s just a regular peasant who works the land and pays taxes to the King. This loss to Ryan really did something to Haney’s position and the way he is treated now.
We saw that last weekend when Haney was arguing with promoter Eddie Hearn over tickets for the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois event at Wembley Stadium. Would that have happened if Haney had beaten Ryan last April? That’s a big no. Haney would be part of the crowd, the celebrity superstar, who would get first-class treatment.
“I feel like me and Devin Haney would be an easy fight for me. It would be super easy, and I know I’ll stop Devin Haney,” said Keyshawn Davis Top Rank Boxingdragging former two-division world champion Haney. “I said this before the Ryan fight. He just has nothing for me.”
If there was a way for Keyshawn to move up to welterweight without losing the power he showed at 135, it would be interesting to see him and Haney battle it out. It does not seem possible given the weight classes, and the network problems that stand in the way of this fight being made.
“You have no power. You have nothing for me to worry about,” Keyshawn said of Haney. “What are you going to do to stop me? With what I have coming, I don’t feel like he has anything to stop me. His defense is not that good. I feel like I have a better defense than him.
“I know he’s fought better opponents than me. So, I give him the benefit of the doubt, but I just feel like I’ve got a better defense than him. Yeah, he is, but you understand he’s fought a lot of guys that were smaller than him,” said Keyshawn, reacting to being told that Haney’s resume is “tough.”
“Most of the guys were smaller than him. He was saying at the weigh-ins, ‘You’re too small.’ , Davis said.
Haney’s various promoters have done a bang-up job of matching him throughout his career, but all good things must come to an end. He fell apart when he finally met his match against Ryan Garcia, and now he looks like yesterday’s news. It may not be possible to rebuild Haney because he is mentally shaken and can no longer break through to fight in weight classes below his huge junior middle frame. The jig is up.
“His guys are smarter than him, and it was easy for him to get out of the way. When you’re taller than somebody, more stretched, it’s easy to get out of the way and just dodge things and keep on the outside , that’s his game. Size means something, bro. He just can’t do (thing) with me,” Keyshawn said.
Until Haney’s last fight against Ryan Garcia on April 20, he had been bigger than all of his opponents, giving him a tremendous advantage. However, he looked deadly against Ryan and was beaten badly by him. Since that fight, Haney has had the look of a former war veteran who is not the same mentally after seeing the horrors of countless battles. This fight took something from Haney that he cannot forget.
