Is Keyshawn Davis The Key To US Boxing Revival?

Friday was the epitome of a feel-good moment for Keyshawn Davis. He demolished Gustavo Lemos, who likely tried to gain an unfair advantage in the WBO lightweight eliminator by intentionally missing weight, in two rounds. Bigger, though, was the fact that the 25-year-old did this in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, at the Scope Arena, with his brothers on the undercard, his sisters singing the national anthem, and his mom glowing with pride in the front row.

Basking in that feel-good evening and in the dominant, destructive display he put on, fans and media have jumped to declare “A Star is Born!” This, after just twelve fights– and none of them against true high-end opposition.

But the rush to anoint is understandable.

In the light of a lagging American boxing scene, Keyshawn Davis and his rise have taken on an exaggerated importance. Davis’ promoter, Top Rank, is especially pushing the “A Star is Born” narrative out of dire necessity as the promotional company limps into the last year of its ESPN TV contract sorely lacking in star power.

There’s no doubt, however, that Davis ticks off all the boxes for boxing stardom. He’s a likable, well-spoken, charismatic mega-talent with a fan-friendly style and an endearing back story.

He’s also coming up in a lightweight division bursting with talent that will give him plenty of legacy-building, star-building opportunities. Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson, William Zepeda, Emanuel Navarrete, and Oscar Valdez are all there. Names like Floyd Schofield, Abdullah Mason, and 18-year-old super prospect Curmel Moton are below him. Denys Berinchyk is essentially holding the WBO lightweight title for him. Even Vasiliy Lomachenko is, ostensibly, still in the picture, if/when he “feels like” fighting again.

A couple pounds up, there’s a junior welterweight division that’s nearly as intriguing, with names like Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez ruling the roost.

The stars have definitely aligned for Davis’ rise to stardom.

The 12-0 Olympic silver medalist, though, seems interested in the quickest rise to the very top, calling out the biggest star in his weight class, Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

“Hey Gervonta,” Davis excitedly exclaimed during his post-fight interview, answering a ‘what’s next’ question, “Knock knock.”

Good luck with that, though.

Gervonta Davis hasn’t been showing much of an interest in big, risky fights. And, to be honest, Top Rank also hasn’t shown much of an interest in making big, risky fights– unless they’re trying to cash out on one of their aging stars.

Most likely, Keyshawn’s next steps forward involve fighting the winner of the upcoming Emanuel Navarrete-Oscar Valdez rematch at 135 and then moving on to his WBO title fight with Berinchyk. Top Rank would be tickled pink if they could lure Lomachenko out of retirement for a showcase passing of the torch fight with Davis, but that seems unlikely.

That’s still a viable path to next-level boxing stardom, especially in a current atmosphere that’s equal parts stale and unfulfilling and where US boxing fans are practically begging for something or someone exciting to support. Given what we’ve seen thus far, the young man from Norfolk could very well be the right guy to lead an American boxing revival.