WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis loves fighting, but he says he’s too clear-eyed to let the ring own him forever. In a candid 22-minute sit-down for Andre Ward’s “The Art of Ward” series, the 26-year-old admitted he is already mapping out post-boxing ventures in streaming and promotion, determined not to become another great who stayed too long. “I can’t love this too much,” he told Ward. “This is gonna come and go, and once it’s gone I can’t keep fighting.”
Davis recalled swapping perspectives with fellow titleholder Shakur Stevenson, who joked about facing five decades of life after retirement. That conversation, Davis said, sharpened his resolve to treat boxing as a springboard, not a forever job. Yet the Norfolk native remains serenely confident in the present; when Ward mentioned the hometown pressure Davis felt last November when he starched Gustavo Lemos in two rounds Davis simply grinned and wondered aloud, “How?” The suggestion he’s immune to tension hints at why some insiders see him as Ward’s heir in poise if not style.
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He returns to Norfolk this Friday, defending against Dominican southpaw Edwin De Los Santos. Davis shrugged off chatter about settling his Olympic grudge with Andy Cruz, saying the Cuban “ain’t ready yet,” just as Davis once needled Devin Haney before he himself was seasoned for such a leap. The champ’s self-belief surfaced again when Ward pressed him for a prediction on Cruz: “Under six,” Davis replied without blinking.
For now, Davis is focused on retaining his belt while keeping his longer game in sight. “I just want to use boxing to put me into other things,” he said. If his ambition outside the ropes matches the composure he shows inside them, Keyshawn Davis may end up rewriting the sport’s familiar cautionary tale - leaving on his own terms, still young, and already streaming the next chapter.
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Image Credit: Sky Sports