Keyshawn Davis is aiming to make the first defense of his WBO World Lightweight title on June 7th when he takes on Edwin De Los Santos.
Although Davis has dismissed the skills of De Los Santos, the Dominican fighter’s last loss came to pound-for-pound star Shakur Stevenson. Known for his stopping power, De Los Santos will look for his 17th career win against ‘The Businessman’.
As for Davis, he will be looking to make it three finishes in a row in his career. In his last outing, Davis knocked out Denys Berinchyk to claim his first world title.
De Los Santos is next on the agenda for Davis. However, the champion is also eyeing a revenge meeting with a foe from his amateur days.
Keyshawn Davis eyes professional rematch with Andy Cruz
Speaking on The Art of Ward podcast with former world champion Andre Ward, Davis was asked about how he felt when he was being called out by other fighters.
The champion said that he doesn’t get offended by the callouts, and that “Everything in this sport [boxing] is business.”
Davis then added, “That Cuban dude, yeah, keep mentioning me. Every time you fight on DAZN, my name is getting brought up.”
The fighter that Davis is referring to is Andy Cruz, a fighter who faced ‘The Businessman’ three times as an amateur. In all three of their meetings, Cruz would come out on top as the pair only competed in finals.
The Cuban Cruz was able to deny Davis gold medals at the 2019 Pan American Games, 2019 AIBA World Championships, and most notably, the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
When asked by Ward if he wanted to face Cruz as a professional, Davis said yes without any hesitation.
In terms of a prediction for the fight, Davis said the fight would go less than six rounds, envisioning a stoppage victory.
The champion then confirmed that talks had been had in regards to setting up a fight with Cruz. However, Davis said, “They ain’t ready,” which is why the fight has not yet been made.
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Andy Cruz set to compete in title eliminator bout on June 14th
Currently with a professional record of 5-0, Olympic gold medalist Cruz is set to take on Hironori Mishiro on June 14th in New York.
Fighting on the same bill as Richardson Hitchins vs George Kambosos Jr., the bout is being billed as an IBF World Lightweight title eliminator.
The current IBF champion at 135 lbs is Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Cruz’s opponent Mishiro has a professional record of 17-1-1 and goes into the bout with five successive victories.