Keyshawn Davis (Norfolk, Va.) W3 Hovhannes Bachkov (Armenia)... Lightweight Keyshawn Davis (Norfolk, Va.) advanced to the finals, scheduled for Sunday, August 8th, after another victory over a familiar opponent [both men also are undefeated in the pros]. Davis, who faced Armenia’s Hovhannes Bachkov during the 2019 World Championship semifinals, was once again victorious over the 2016 Olympian. Davis won two cards, 29-27, while he was the preferred winner on three cards that had the bout even, 28-28, after Davis was deducted a point in the second round, leading the judges to select an overall winner. The first round saw Davis outbox his opponent, taking all five judges’ score cards to take the lead. The second round saw Davis being deducted the point, while Backov found more of a rhythm and saw three of the five judges awarding him the round over the American. Davis returned to form in the final round, taking the round 5-0, and forcing three judges to then pick the overall winner, which were all in favor of Davis. On Sunday,  Davis will look to add his name to the likes of other lightweight Olympic Champions, including the last boxer to do so, Oscar De La Hoya (1992), as well as Norfolk’s own Pernell Whitaker (1984).

 

Andy Cruz (Cuba) W3 Harry Garside (Australia)... Davis will have a day of rest before competing in the gold medal bout against Cuba’s Andy Cruz. The highly anticipated matchup will see the two go head-to-head for the biggest platform the two have boxed each other in. Cruz, who currently holds a 3-0 record over Davis, advanced by way of unanimous decision over Australia’s Harry Garside.