Keyshawn Davis predicts action-packed fight against Miguel Madueño

Lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis predicts his fight against Miguel Madueño will be “action-packed” in a ten-round contest on Saturday night, July 6, at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.

Davis (10-0, KOs), who scored a sixth-round knockout victory over 35-year-old veteran Jose Pedraza earlier this year on February 8 at the Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, is looking to make a statement against Madueño (31-2, 28 KOs).

A stepping stone for Davis?

Keyshawn vs. Madueño will fight as the undercard for Shakur Stevenson vs. Artem Harutyunyan. The event will be broadcast live on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.

Madueño lost to Steve Claggett by unanimous decision after ten rounds in Montreal, Canada on November 14, 2023. The fight was not close, as Claggett won almost every round.

That gives a hint as to what Saturday’s Keyshawn-Madueno fight is all about. It’s another fight that will boost Keyshawn’s ranking, but it won’t prepare him to dethrone the champions in the 135 division, Shakur, Gervonta Davis, Vasily Lomachenko or Denys Berinchyk.

Keyshawn looks like a full-fledged 140-pounder, and it’s unclear why he’s choosing to stay at 135, because he’s huge for the division. He’s friends with Shakur, so he’ll probably never fight him, and he may never get a chance to face Tank Davis or Lomachenko. Those are bad opponents for Keyshawn. Lomachenko will retire without fighting Keyshawn, and Tank could move up to 140 in two or three fights.

Andy Cruz is high in the 135-pound rankings, and Keyshawn has already lost to him four times in the amateur division. Whatever title Keyshawn might hope to win at lightweight, he won’t hold it for long if Cruz becomes a mandatory fighter.

Top Rank obviously knows Keyshawn’s limitations and will likely delay the fight against Andy Cruz as long as possible to prevent the inevitable.

Berinchyk is the only one Keyshawn could beat, but that’s a tough fight for him, and he could lose that one too. If Top Rank waits until the 36-year-old Berinchyk is older, Keyshawn may be able to beat him, but not now.

“I always knew I would be in this position, so it’s not a big deal for me,” Keyshawn Davis told Top Rank Boxing, talking about being a contender at lightweight but not having beaten anyone yet.

Keyshawn doesn’t say what he means by being “in that position.” As far as I can tell, Keyshawn is one of many contenders and he’s ranked behind #1 William Zepeda and #2 Raymond Muratalla. He’s not going to beat those guys and it wouldn’t be a good idea for Top Rank to lump Keyshawn in with them.

“I knew I was a talented kid and I knew I was a talented teenager. Right now I’m just working on becoming a world champion. I don’t really care about being a rising star,” Keyshawn said.

Keyshawn still has a lot of work to do to keep up with these talented fighters: Abdullah Mason, Andy Cruz, William Zepeda, Muratalla and Scholfield. Keyshawn is a good fighter, but his biggest advantage at 135 pounds is his tremendous size.

He’s a 140+ pound boxer who fights below his weight class. In other words, Keyshawn is a weight bully, and that helps, but he can’t make a career out of it unless he wants to kill himself and stay at his weight for the next ten years.

Nahir Albright exposed Keyshawn back in October. I think that’s why Top Rank slowed his development by moving him back to Pedraza instead of putting him against one of these contenders: Andy Cruz, Muratalla, William Zepeda or Floyd Schofield.

They know what they have in Keyshawn and they are not going to ruin him by putting him in a fight he can’t win. Keyshawn should step up and face WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez as he is showing signs of weakness. Keyshawn would have a good chance of beating Teofimo if he keeps his chin down.

Madueño’s power

“He is a very aggressive fighter and relentless,” Keyshawn said of his opponent Miguel Madueño, against whom he will face in a ten-round preliminary bout this Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark.

Madueño, 25, has enough power to knock out Keyshawn if he can land a big punch. Albright hurt Keyshawn, and he’s not nearly as powerful as Madueño.

“I can hit him with a good punch and I still see him trying to get hit and throw his punches. I think this fight is going to be a real action fight. I’m going to finish it,” Keyshawn said.