Now, this is a rivalry everyone can get behind. An old rival seems to have come out of the woodwork to haunt WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis. Picture this: Davis competing in the amateurs, racking up win after win to secure several championships in the process. However, there’s this one fighter, this one guy— ‘The Businessman’ could not beat, no matter how hard he tried. Now, imagine the same opponent followed Davis to the professional ranks, hell-bent on repeating history. This is the reality the WBO lightweight champion has found himself in recently. Who is this opponent?

2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics gold medalist Andy Cruz. The duo fought a total of four times during their amateur run. And guess what the results of those fights were. Cruz won all four of them, with the last one coming during the finale of the men’s lightweight tournament in the Tokyo Olympics. While Keyshawn Davis brought home silver for the US, Cruz made Cuba proud by bagging gold. Since then, Cruz turned professional in 2023 under Matchroom, racking up 5-0 in the professional scene. Meanwhile, Davis had turned professional before competing in the Olympics. He now has a record of 13-0.

Davis recently even acquired the WBO lightweight belt by defeating fellow Olympic silver medalist Denys Berinchyk. Whereas Cruz, who turned pro late, has already found his way into the rankings: No. 1 by the WBC, No. 3 by the IBF and WBA, and No. 15 by the WBO. So, as expected, talks of a fight between the pair have already started to heat up. 

In the meantime, the 29-year-old Olympic gold medalist levied new allegations against Davis, keeping their rivalry alive. “Keyshawn doesn’t want to fight anyone who can fight 😩🙏🏾,” he wrote on X earlier today. However, the question is, what does Davis think about a fight between them?

Keyshawn Davis Doesn’t Want to Fight Andy Cruz… Yet

Keyshawn Davis isn’t dodging Andy Cruz, but he’s not in a rush to fight him either. The WBO lightweight champion made it clear that Cruz needs to raise his profile in the professional ranks before they meet in the ring. “The ball is in their court,” Davis told The Ring. “We already sent them a contract. I got on a live video call with Eddie Hearn and told him to set up the fight. I don’t know what more y’all want me to do.”

Davis acknowledges Cruz as a potential opponent but questions whether the Cuban is actually ready. “He doesn’t even have a f**king fan base. His entire fanbase is built around me.” While Cruz expects Davis to hand over the belt “sooner rather than later,” Davis sees the fight happening only “if he does something extraordinary and it makes sense.” Until then, Keyshawn Davis remains focused on bigger fights.

Having said that, Andy Cruz vs. Keyshawn Davis might not happen anytime soon, but the statement from Cruz today suggests it might not be that far away, either. If they fought, who do you think would win?