Keyshawn Davis Clinches WBO Lightweight Title with Fourth-Round KO

Keyshawn Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) made history by claiming the WBO lightweight world title in just his 14th professional fight on Friday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In a thrilling contest, Davis stopped Denys Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KOs), the fellow Olympic silver medalist, with a devastating left hook to the body in the fourth round.

Davis, who had been embroiled in an ugly fight-week controversy with Berinchyk, stayed composed throughout the fight and executed his game plan effectively. After navigating through Berinchyk’s awkward movement and feints early on, Davis found his rhythm by the third round, timing Berinchyk’s entries with powerful right hands. In the fourth, Davis doubled down on his body attack, landing a right followed by a crushing left hook to the liver that floored Berinchyk.

The Ukrainian fighter struggled to rise, and with Berinchyk unable to recover, referee Harvey Dock waved the fight off at 1:45 of the fourth round.

Davis said post-fight, “It was an amazing feeling. Right before I knocked him out, I was hearing the crowd saying, ‘Norfolk! Norfolk! Norfolk!’ I was like, ‘I’ve got to knock him out now! Boom!’”

"I never really had problems with awkward fighters. The only thing that was giving me trouble was how he kept jumping in and out. As the rounds went on, I got more comfortable, and in the fourth, I did it to him."

Davis also dedicated the win to his son, Keyshawn Jr., who was in attendance, adding, “When he looks back at this day, he’s going to be proud of his father."

Looking ahead, Davis made it clear that he's ready for any challenge at lightweight: "I want anybody who has the balls to step in the ring and fight me. There are two 135-pound champions that I would love to fight. If they have the guts to step in the ring with ‘The Businessman,’ tell them to send me a contract, or I can send them one.”

Xander Zayas Dominates Slawa Spomer in Co-Feature

Puerto Rican phenom Xander Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) showed his class in the co-feature of the night, stopping Slawa Spomer (20-1, 11 KOs) in the ninth round. Zayas, the WBO No. 1 junior middleweight, invested in body shots throughout the fight, eventually breaking down Spomer.

Zayas explained, "I knew from the first round that he would wear down little by little. In the third or fourth, I hurt him. We had 10 rounds to wear him down, and by the eighth and ninth, we stepped it up with combinations to get the finish."

The fight came to a close at 2:01 of the ninth round when Zayas landed a brutal left hook to the liver, forcing Spomer to falter and the referee to step in. Zayas added, "On paper, he was my toughest opponent to date, and I stopped him. I feel I'm ready to fight for a world title right now. I want that next."

Mielnicki and Coyle Battle to a Majority Draw

In a hard-fought middleweight clash, Vito Mielnicki Jr. (20-1-1, 12 KOs) and Connor “The Kid” Coyle (21-0-1, 9 KOs) fought to a 10-round majority draw. The fight was a back-and-forth affair, with Mielnicki landing the bigger shots early and Coyle responding with combination work. Mielnicki staggered Coyle in the later rounds, but Coyle was able to weather the storm. One judge scored it 96-94 for Mielnicki, while the other two judges had it 95-95.

Other Highlights:

Junior Bantamweight: Juanmita Lopez De Jesus (1-0, 1 KO), son of two-division world champion Juan Manuel "JuanMa" Lopez, made an explosive debut, knocking out Bryan Santiago (1-2-1) with a left uppercut in the opening round at :59.

Lightweight: Abdullah Mason (17-0, 15 KOs) continued his rise, overwhelming Manuel Jaimes (16-3-1, 11 KOs) to score a fourth-round TKO. Mason dropped Jaimes four times before the referee stepped in at 1:55.

Welterweight: Dominican Olympian Rohan Polanco (15-0, 10 KOs) impressively stopped Jean Carlos Torres (22-2, 17 KOs) in the second round with a flurry of punches after a first-round knockdown. The referee stopped the fight at 1:48 of the second round.

Welterweight: Keon Davis (2-0, 1 KO), Keyshawn’s younger brother, earned his first professional stoppage, knocking out Ira Johnson (3-3, 2 KOs) in the second round with a flurry of punches at 1:38.

Heavyweight: Jared Anderson (18-1, 15 KOs) rebounded from his first career loss to win a 10-round unanimous decision over Marios Kollias (12-4-1, 10 KOs), with scores of 99-91 (twice) and 98-92.

Middleweight: In an upset, Juan Carlos Guerra (6-1-1, 2 KOs) defeated Nico Ali Walsh (11-2, 5 KOs) via six-round split decision, with scores of 58-56 Guerra (twice) and 58-56 Ali Walsh.