“Past your prime?” Hackett says Keyshawn destroyed Berinchyk at 8!

Trainer Greg Hackett is picking Keyshawn Davis to knock out WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk in their next fight on February 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Hackett believes the 36-year-old Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) is no longer at his peak and is perfect for Keyshawn (12-0, 8 KOs) for a knockout.

Davis is not a knockout, and he was injured when he tried to knock out Nahir Albright. Berinchyk has the skills and more than enough power to unmask Keyshawn and show the fans that he is still the same fighter that Cuban Andy Cruz beat four times.

Berinchyk’s technical acuity

Top Rank touts Davis as furious, trying to make him a star without putting him in a risky fight against Cruz or some of the other killers.

They made a mistake in their last fight involving Berinchyk when they went up against popular Mexican fighter Emanuel Navarrete, only for the Ukrainian talent to defeat him. Now it’s Keyshawn’s turn. If he loses this fight to Berinchyk, you can bet Top Rank will keep their fighters away from him.

“Keyshawn put up a hell of a fight in his last outing (against Gustavo Lemos). Before him is a man who is solid. This guy, Berinchyk, isn’t cute, but he’s not in his prime. He’s past his prime. He can fight and all that, but he’s past his prime,” coach Greg Hackett said YSM Sports mediatalking about WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk, who Keyshawn Davis will next challenge on February 14th.

“I think Keysahwn will work him over and stop him in the eighth round. They will process it though. Good jab, good right. Keyshawn will have to slow things down in this fight. Don’t go in a hurry, look for a knockout. I’m not saying he went there looking for a knockout against Lemos.

“It happened because Lemos forced the action. Berinchyk will be a little more strategic in this one. It will poke him a little. So in this one, he (Davis) has to take his time, break it down, get to that body a little bit, sneak some uppercuts in there, and sneak some hooks,” Hackett said.

Davis’ victory over Gustavo Lemos was thanks to his fight with the short, 5’5 1/2″, slow fighter who was coming off a loss to Richardson Hitchins and exhausted himself at 140 to take the fight. Keyshawn personally chose it. Davis saw Hitchins defeat Lemos.

Why not Andy Cruz?

These are the questions you have to ask Davis: Why pick a fighter who has lost and is fighting at welterweight? Andy Cruz was available at 135, and had already beaten Keyshawn four times.

“Keyshawn will slow him down, and in the eighth round he will stop him. Not the household, but this one, we’ll talk a little bit, but not the household,” Hackett said when asked if this fight would make Keyshawn Davis a household name if he beats Berinchyk.

“For household he will need Teo (Lopez), he will need ‘Africa’ (Richardson Hitchins). He will need someone to host him. It has to be one of those, ‘Oh, good.’ This one is, ‘Oh well, I see you, but I need oh, well. You’re not fucking around,’ Hackett said.

In order for Keyshawn to become a household name, he will need to defeat these fighters:

1. Gervonta Davis
2. Shakur Stevenson
3. Andy Cruz
4. Edwin Delos Santos
5. William Zepeda

Unfortunately, Keyshawn probably won’t fight any of those guys, so he may never become a household name. It will only be known to die-hard boxing fans. What he should do is move up to 147 and fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to see if he can beat him. He’s the same size as Boots, and if he wins, he’ll be a household name.

A light heavyweight in disguise?

He probably won’t though because Ennis would beat him and he wouldn’t want to take any chances. Keyshawn should fight at 147 because he is a welterweight. If Boots wanted to game the system, he would have done the same as Keyshawn by cutting down to 135 to fight smaller guys, but he’s brave and wouldn’t make such a weak move.

“If he gives me two bodies, we are missing one more body. I need three. I need them to really go down,” Hackett said when asked if Keyshawn needs a knockout against Berinchyk. “Still, this will be good. Berinchyk will reveal some tricks. So that’s why I say Keyshawn has to be patient.”

Keyshawn is not a knockout, so Hackett got things wrong about him because he was never that type of fighter. His recent knockout against Lemos was the result of him fighting a tiny 5’5″ guy with no hand speed who fought like Neanderthal man. It was custom made for him or any fighter at 135.

“Don’t be greedy in this fight. Choose your job. Don’t be greedy. Not all, but he’s going to have to bring out a few sets of gear,” Hackett said of Davis. “He’s going to carry everything, but he doesn’t need a big bag, but he’s going to need a bag,” Hackett said of whether Davis will have to carry everything to defeat Berinchyk.

Davis will get greedy and try to score a knockout against Berinchyk. This will result in him being clipped just like he was against Nahir Albright, who staggered him in the eighth round when he tried to knock him out.

Lessons from Cruz

“They’re not going to have to bring everything because it’s not going to be all in front of you,” Hackett said. “Sometimes we think we need a lot, but sometimes all you need is a basic jab, a basic right hand and a basic hook with good distance. Sometimes that’s all you need. He might need a little more than that, but he won’t need all of it.

“That’s what we think sometimes. He just needs a good, solid bag,” Hackett said, sounding like a Keyshawn cheerleader.

Davis will need a lot more than a “learning bag” to defeat Berinchyk because this guy is technically a better fighter than him, with a lot more amateur and pro experience. Keyshawn was broken into by Andy Cruz of Cuba, who defeated him for the fourth time at the 2020 Olympics. He once again exposed him as a limited fighter with little more than a punch.