Keyshawn Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) used his HUGE size advantage to stop WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KOs) in the fourth round on Friday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.
Looking like a massive middleweight inside the ring, Keyshawn used his size advantage over the much smaller Berinchyk to drop him with body shots in rounds three and four. The fight was stopped in the fourth after Keyshawn knocked Berinchyk down with a left to the liver. The referee counted out the champion. The time of the stoppage was 1:40.
Round 1: Massive-looking Keyshawn Davis, looking to have rehydrated to 160+ lbs, using his size to shove smaller Berinchyk around the ring. Berinchyk lands some nice shots on the inside. Keyshawn lands the bigger shots due to his size.
Round 2: Keyshawn shoves Berinchyk to the canvas and hits him while he’s down. No warning is given. The smaller Berinchyk bounced inside to land sharp punches but no effect on Davis. Bigger shots landed by Keyshawn.
Round 3: Early knockdown from Davis from a left to the body that caused Berinchyk to go down. Unable to finish Berinchyk, Davis shoves him hard is warned. Keyshawn looks so much bigger than Berinchyk in this round. There’s no way he could be fighting at lightweight if this were the IBF belt, which has a 10-lb rehydration clause.
Round 4: Berinchyk’s nose bleeding from hard shots. Moments later, Keyshawn drops Berinchyk with a left to the body. He’s then counted out by the referee. Too much size on Davis’ side. I don’t know how he can melt down to 135.
Results
– #1 WBO Junior middleweight contender Xander Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) scored a ninth-round knockout over previously unbeaten #11 Slawa Spomer (20-1, 11 KOs) in the chief support bout. Zayas, 22, hurt Spomer with a left to the body in the ninth. He then followed up with a barrage of body shots, resulting in the referee, Charlie Fitch, stopping the contest. The time was at 2:01 mark.
This performance by Xander wasn’t the type that gives one confidence that he could beat the top fighters in the 154-lb division, like Vergil Ortiz Jr., Israil Madrimov, Serhii Bohachuk, Terence Crawford or Sebastian Fundora. He doesn’t possess the power.
It was a dull fight, with the light-hitting Zayas hitting and retreating all night. He got away with numerous low blows without being penalized by the referee. Some fans on social media complained that Zayas was being protected because he was the A-side and promoted by Top Rank.
This fight was an example of careful matchmaking by Top Rank. They picked out a non-puncher in Spomer, who was only ranked by one of the four sanctioning bodies and had no experience against world class opposition. they could have chosen Charles Conwell for Zayas’ opponent, but he would have been dangerous.
– Middleweights Vito Mielnicki Jr (20-1-1, 12 KOs) and Connor Coyle (21-0-1, 9 KOs) fought to a ten-round draw. The scores were 96-94 for Mielnicki Jr, 95-95 and 95-95. Coyle fought well in rounds three and four, throwing combinations to get the better of Mielnicki.
The remainder of the fight was ugly, with Mieknicki moving, jabbing, and holding. His whole focus was keeping Coyle from throwing. Coyle landed the better shots, but the judges were impressed enough with Mielnicki’s defensive tactics to give him a draw. It’s surprising that Top Rank put this fight on the main card because it was more of a prelim-level contest.
– Super flyweight prospect Juanmita Lopez De Jesus (1-0, 1 KO) knocked out Bryan Santiago (1-2-1) by a first round. Juanmita landed a left uppercut that put Santiago down. The referee then counted him out.
– Lightweight contender Abdullah Mason (17-0, 15 KOs) scored a fourth-round technical knockout of Manuel Jaimes (16-3-1, 11 KOs). Mason, 20, sent Jaimes to the canvas four times with big shots. Jaimes was down once in rounds two & three and twice in the fourth. The referee stopped the fight after the second knockdown in the fourth. The time was at 1:55 of round 4.
“We want the belts, world championship. We’re right there. Keep doing what I’m doing,” said Mason after the fight. “We’re creeping up on those titles. No names, be right back. Once we get in position for those titles, that’s what we want.”
– 2020 Olympian Rohan Polanco (15-0, 10 KOs) destroyed Jean Carlos Torres (22-2, 17 KOs) by a second-round knockout in welterweight action scheduled for ten rounds. Polanco dropped Torres with a left hook high on the head in the first round. In the second, Polanco, 26, landed a beautiful right hand that put Torres down like a sack of potatoes. Later in the round, Rohan connected with a left-right combination that staggered Torres, causing the referee to step in and wave it off. The time of the stoppage was at 1:40 of round two. Polanco is another fighter on the card that looks like a better fighter than Keyshawn. Top Rank has got some great fighters coming down the pipeline.
– Welterweight prospect Keon Davis (2-0, 1 KO) knocked out Ira Johnson (3-3, 2 KOs) in the second round of a scheduled four-round bout held at a catch-weight fight at 150 lbs. The lanky 6’3″ Davis, the 23-year-old brother of Keyshawn Davis, dropped Johnson with a body shot in round two. When the action restarted, Davis connected with a left to the body followed by two chopping right hands to the head that dropped Johnson.
The referee then counted him out. The time of the stoppage was at 1:38 in round two. Keon looks more impressive in this performance than any of the three Davis brothers and much better than Keyshawn. Keon is more of a pure puncher, and he gets a lot of power on his shots. He wasn’t a great amateur, but he looks outstanding as a pro.
If Keon can stay at 147, he’s got the potential to win a world title. At 154, I doubt that he can hang with the top guys in that weight class. He’s not built like that; there are some real killers in that division. But if he stays at welterweight, that division is so weak that he can definitely capture a belt.
– Heavyweight Jared Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs) bounced back from his recent knockout loss to defeat Marios Kollias (12-4-1, 10 KOs) by an unimpressive 10-round unanimous decision. The scores were 99-91, 99-91 and 98-92. Boxing News 24 had it 8-2 for Anderson. In the final 10 seconds of the tenth, Kollias hurt Anderson with a flurry of punches after trapping him against the ropes. It was lucky for Jared that the flurry came in the final seconds of the round rather than earlier because he looked ready to be knocked out.
– Middleweight Juan Carlos Guerra Jr (6-1-1, 2 KOs) upset favorite Nico Ali Walsh (10-2, 5 KOs), winning a six-round split decision. Guerra Jr, 29, used nonstop pressure, following Walsh around the ring, throwing big shots, mostly missing landing enough to impress the judges. The scores were 58-56, 58-56 for Guerra Jr., and 58-56 for Walsh.