Rising prospect Keyshawn Davis is set to face WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk this weekend at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York. This marks the biggest fight of Davis’ career, as he prepares for his first major title opportunity. Despite the high stakes, the pre-fight buildup had remained relatively respectful—until now.

With just days to go, tensions have escalated. The 36-year-old Ukrainian allegedly insulted Davis’ culture by sending him a box of bananas and watermelon to his hotel room. Speaking to a reporter from Wednesday’s final presser, Davis explained what happened and how the incident has fueled his motivation, especially with the fight taking place during Black History Month.

“It was housekeeping,” Davis told the reporter when asked about the delivery. “It was somebody from the lobby or something like that. He just kept insisting, like, can I bring it in? Can I bring it in?” Frustrated, Keyshawn Davis eventually allowed the hotel employee to drop off the box. “My friend was just like, man, F it. Just go ahead and bring it in, bro. As long as there ain’t no bomb or nothing like that, you’re good.”

When asked if this added pressure to knock out Berinchyk, Davis responded, “I’m glad you said that. I’m doing it for the culture. Because we need that now. He done gave us bananas and watermelon. He done gave us that. I’m doing it for the culture.”

Davis had previously shared a picture of the actual package on social media.

Keyshawn Davis claims Denys Berinchyk made things personal

A few hours ago, Keyshawn Davis took to X to share a picture of a package he allegedly received from Denys Berinchyk. ‘The Businessman’ Davis captioned the post, “Denys Berinchyk & his team sent this to my room. I never thought bro was racist but this fight just got a little more personal. #firstroundKO🫱🏾‍🫲🏿.” The package seemed to have come with a note inside, which just made things worse.

“Here’s a snack for all those hight jumps. Stay energized businesswom..” the note read. While there’s no concrete proof that Berinchyk or his team were responsible for the gesture, Davis took it personally and made his intentions clear in a follow-up tweet. “It’s black history month Friday I’m doing it for the culture.🫱🏾‍🫲🏿”

The controversy carried over to the press conference, where Davis directly addressed the issue. “I want to address the fact that this guy came to America to give me bananas and watermelon with a note on it.” Davis branded the alleged action from Berinchyk “unprofessional… racist,” claiming this just made the fight even more “personal.”

That said, despite Davis’ strong accusations, there is still no definitive evidence linking Berinchyk to the package. Further investigation may uncover the truth, but what do you think—could Berinchyk have really been behind this?