There’s going to be a championship boxing match in The Theatre at Madison Square Garden on Valentine’s Day.
Wait, don’t stop reading. Sure, boxing isn’t what it used to be, but this is different.
It’s not a main event between a 25-year-old influencer vs. a former champ a few years away from collecting Social Security.
It’s not an MMA fighter with ten consonants in his name and cauliflowered ears that would make a salad buffet jealous.
And it’s not a heavyweight championship where the champ looks the part, but the challenger is so bloated that he could have been used at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade as a balloon.
On the Garden card, both fighters are under 40. Both are undefeated. Both have won Olympic silver medals, have interesting back stories and the fight is not some overpriced pay-per-view.
The fight is on plain old, regular, basic cable ESPN starting at 9 p.m. It’s also available on ESPN Desportes and, if you must, ESPN+.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s lightweight WBO champion Denys “The Thunder” Berinchyk (see only seven consonants) from Kyiv, Ukraine with a pro record of 19-0 with 9 KOs. He is defending his title against American Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis (12-0, 1 NC and 8 KOs).
Davis is trained by Brian “Bomac” McIntyre, trainer of four-division champion Terrence Crawford who faces Canelo Alvarez in Saudi Arabia in September.
Berinchyk captured his light-welterweight silver at the 2012 London Olympics while Davis won his lightweight bauble at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The talented Davis is promoted by Top Rank and their 93-year-old boss sees something in Davis that might be really special.
“He reminds me of Sugar Ray Leonard, the way he fights,” said Bob Arum, who has promoted some of the all-time greats like Ali, Foreman, Mayweather and Pacquiao. “Whether he ends up as good as Leonard, that remains to be seen, but he has all of the qualities to be a top, top, boxer in multiple weight divisions.”
When Davis is told who Arum thinks he reminds him, without missing a beat, he blurts out, “Sugar Ray Leonard.”
“The first time he ever told me that, I was 5-0, 6-0 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas,” recalled Davis, who started boxing at age nine. “I didn’t see it when he said it, but as time goes on, I started seeing it for myself.
Talk is cheap if you can’t back it up, but Davis does have that serious side.
It’s not just from his nickname “The Businessman,” though he wants to learn the sport inside and out. It’s what he sees in his opponent that can make him dangerous.
“I’m really great at reading body language,” said Davis, the father of five-month-old Keyshawn Davis Jr. “When I watch tape, I’m looking forward to seeing what type of person that I’m fighting. It’s not about your skill, your ability, how fast you are, nothing like that. I take that out and I just look at how tough you are.”
“You know when things get tough?” he said. “How are you coming out each round? How are you slowing down? What kind of mentality that you have? I look at all that s–t.”
Berinchyk, 36, is making his first title defense. He captured the crown with a 12-round split decision last May over champion Emanuel Navarrete.
His life away from the ring is startling as he helped deliver aid, evacuate civilians and dodge gunfire from the now three-year war between Russian and Ukraine.
Berinchyk earned a PhD in physical education and sport from the National University of Ukraine. He may try to put pressure on Davis, but Berinchyk can’t bring the pressure that Davis has had to deal with in his life.
Davis has overcome quite a bit in a short period of time. He grew up seeing his parents literally fighting each other and life’s pressure put him in a mental facility at age 17 while still in high school.
He went there in an ambulance, strapped to a stretcher for a three-hour ride to the facility with the siren blaring. Davis still gets antsy whenever he hears that noise.
Davis has told his story to ESPN and FIGHTHYPE.com about harming himself and putting a gun to his head. He’s stronger now, has God in his life, glad he got help and deals with pressure in his own way.
Fighting in the Olympics had him dealing with a different kind of pressure.
“It just helped me learn how to deal with the pressure on the highest stage,” he declared.
He’s not worried about challenging Berinchyk. When asked if he sees a decision or a knockout, the reply comes lightning fast like his combinations.
“First round,” he said, matter-of-factly. “I believe I can do it and I’m going out there and try to do it.”
Davis admitted that he was nervous leading up to his last fight versus Gustavo Lemos (29-1) in front of his hometown fans in Norfolk, Va., last November.
“I didn’t really feel any pressure until fight week because everything was so happy,” said Davis who now resides and trains in Las Vegas. “Fight night is when I actually started to feel the pressure. I haven’t gotten nervous in a long time.”
He dealt with the pressure by stopping Lemos in two rounds.
In Davis’s 13 pro fights, he has never fought an opponent with a losing record.
“You don’t want to waste his time fighting guys who are nobodies,” said Arum, adding, what’s the point of, “fighting guys who he’s going to roll over.”
“I expect him to push the pace,” predicted Davis and admitting he’s never gone 12 before though he’s gone 10 three times. Berinchyk has gone 12 seven times including his last four fights.
Also on the card, Roseland, N.J.’s own Vito “White Magic” Mielnicki Jr. (20-1; 12 KOs) faces undefeated middleweight Connor “The Kid” Coyle (21-0; 9 KOs) in 10 rounds; unbeaten junior middleweights square off as Zander Zayas (20-0; 12 KOs) from Puerto Rico faces Slawa Spomer (20-0; 11 KOs) in a 10-rounder; and heavyweight contender Jared Anderson (17-1; 15 KOs) looks to bounce back after suffering a kayo loss in his last fight against Martin Bakole. Anderson faces Marios Kollias (12-3-1; 10 KOs) in 10.
Davis’s nickname is “The Businessman” for good reason. He’s trying to learn the business side of the sport.
“I see myself as Keyshawn Davis ‘The Businessman,’” he declared. “The people are going to put a label on you, whether you are a role model or whether you are hypocritical or not, whether you’re a good person or not.”
He strives to be “The Businessman,” but the real business person may be a family member.
Wanda Davis is Davis’s mother and manager. She is the real Businesswoman.
“She’s very smart and managers don’t always consist of just managing the paperwork, boxing and just maneuvering,” said Davis. “A boxing manager’s job also consists of managing your life outside the ring and she does a great job doing it.
“She’s there every step of the way.”
His mom may have her work cut out for her. If Davis captures the WBO belt, there are some very lucrative fights to be made at 135 where he will reside for a while.
The IBF champ is Vasilly Lomachenko, the WBA champ is Gervonta “Tank” Davis, who’s fighting WBA 130-pound champ Lamont Roach at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on March 1, and the WBC boss is Shakur Stevenson.
So, who you got?
“Honestly, it don’t really matter,” he said. “I got a lot of people that I’ve been going back and forth [Tank Davis] on social media. I got a lot of names.”
He is a social media savant. He knows of its importance.
“If you don’t have social media, then nobody knows you,” said the 5-9 Davis. “You’ve got to be active on social media. Social media runs the world.”
Davis proved it in his last fight at The Scope in Norfolk. The last big fight there was Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker defending his WBC welterweight title in a 1994 rematch against James “Buddy” McGirt.
“When we had him fight in his hometown, through social media, he was able to cause a stir,” said Arum. “We had a sold out arena (10,588) with a lot of loyal fans.”
If Davis keeps this up, “The Businessman” may become more than just a nickname. It could become what every athlete craves … his own brand.
