Keyshawn Davis Gives Himself a “C+ or B-” After His Decision Win to Francesco Patera

Norfolk, Virginia-born Keyshawn Davis seems content with how he fought on Saturday night. He faced Belgian Francesco Patera while defending his WBO Inter-Continental and WBC-USNBC Lightweight titles. The fight at Shawnee, Oklahoma’s Firelake Arena, ended in a unanimous win for the twenty-four-year-old American. So, upon close inspection, the young boxer rated his performance between good and satisfactory.

The match with Petera took place on the George Kambosos Jr.–Maxi Hughes card. Kambosos Jr. secured a majority decision win that, unfortunately, drew flak from the audience and many followers. Thankfully the fight between the American Davis and the Belgian Patera ended on a decisive note. The judges awarded the bout in the former’s favor with scores of 100-89,  100-89, and 99-90.

Triumph in the end, according to Keyshawn Davis

Keyshawn Davis became the WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight champion last year on December 10, defeating the Mexican Juan Carlos Burgos. Four months later, he added the WBC-USNBC Lightweight in the kitty while defending the Inter-Continental belt from the Swedish Anthony Yigit four months later. So talking about his fight against Patera, Davis commented, “I give myself a C+ or B-. ”

‘The Businessman’ took over the reins of the fight early on. However, from round five, the Belgian boxer started finding his mark. But a right from Keyshawn Davis sent Francesco Patera down in the eighth round. For the next two rounds, the former outboxed the latter to convince the judges to declare him the winner. Before the fight, reportedly, the American boxer claimed to be the first person to hand over a knockout defeat to Patera, yet to face an early stoppage loss in his career.

So explaining his stand further, Davis said that ultimately all that mattered, in the end, was a victory, which he ensured thumpingly. He said, “…we got the win, and that’s all that matters. I can’t really be too hard on myself if I don’t stop these guys because they have way more experience than me. But, at the end of the day, I am beating them unanimously in every round….”

It’s been slightly over two years since Keyshawn Davis turned to professional boxing. The Norfolk native had an outstanding run as an amateur boxer, winning silver medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 2019 World Championships in Yekaterinburg, and the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima. The win over Patera marks his entry as one of the serious contenders in the 135 lbs. division.

Read More: “Stop Trying to Build Your Man Off My Name” – Keyshawn Davis Pulls No Punches Against Eddie Hearn

Do you agree with Keyshawn Davis’ self-assessment? Please share your thoughts and views with us in the comments below.

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