Tomorrow (Friday), Keyshawn Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) will challenge Denys Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) for the WBO lightweight title this Friday, Feb. 14th at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. The 25-year-old gets his first shot at world title glory against a fellow Olympic silver medalist determined to hold onto his crown. But the fight took on a deeply personal turn during Thursday’s press conference after Davis (who is Black) accused Berinchyk (a white Ukrainian) of delivering a box of bananas and a watermelon to his room, an act he deemed racist. [There is no hard evidence of his involvement and] Berinchyk dismissed the claim as a manufactured controversy. This is what the principals had to say about the incident: 

 

Statement issued by Top Rank

 

"Top Rank is appalled and disgusted by ther actions of the individual(s) that delivered the package to Keyshawn Davis [Tuesday] night. These actions are contrary to the foundation of Top Rank. There is no place for this in sports or society. Keyshawn has our full support.

 

Denys Berinchyk

 

“I don’t speak English, and I don’t write English.  I saw his message on social media. It’s weird even to mention this. Some people with bad intentions looking for some hype made that.”

 

“The first thing you need to do is make weight. And afterward, on Friday, we’re going to sort it out.”

 

“Since winning my title, I’ve been training the entire time. And I was preparing for this defense. Nothing changed too much in my life. We have a war in Ukraine. So, unfortunately, my life didn’t change much.”

 

“I never imagined myself fighting here. But I’ve been working hard for 25 years to make my dream come true and accomplish this assignment.”

 

“I have 355 amateur fights. I have more than 500 victorious street fights. I have one bare-knuckle fight that was also victorious.” 

 

Keyshawn Davis

 

“I want to address the fact that this guy came to America to give me bananas and a watermelon with a note on it. It’s unprofessional, and I feel like it’s racist. And you just made this fight a little more personal. This man brought a box of bananas and a watermelon to America to bring to my room. I took it as racist. So, I got something for you.”

 

“Ya’ll did it. It’s OK that ya’ll did it. I’m going to whoop your ass for it. Just know what’s coming Friday night.”

 

“It’s a real blessing. When he called my name out after he won his last fight, I had a feeling in my spirit that I was going to fight him for the world championship. I never thought it would be at Madison Square Garden.”

 

“You’re not tougher than me. You can talk about all that bare-knuckle stuff. I come from what I come from. I’ve been doing this bare-knuckle s**t outside the ring. So, all that s**t you’re talking about, I don’t care. I’m going to f**k you up this Friday. 

 

I don’t care about none of your experience or amateur experience. I don’t care about your silver medal. I don’t even care about your watch, your belt, or any of that. I’m going to f**k you up on Friday.”