Eddie Hearn says it is eating away at Keyshawn Davis, who lost four times as an amateur to Cuban Andy Cruz, and believes he will want to prove he is the better fighter in the pros.

Davis has repeatedly declined to confront Cruz, saying he is beneath Cruz and that fighting him would do him no good. For Keyshawn, it sounds like an old-fashioned, downright fear, not wanting to be defeated and have his career crumble before it even gets started.

Cruz’s threat

Hearn believes the rivalry between top-ranked lightweight contenders Keyshawn (12-0, 8 KOs) and Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs) will be fueled by their rivalry Make huge progress.

He said that if Davis takes the WBO lightweight title from champion Dennis Belinchik on February 14 next month, he may want to rekindle his old relationship with Cruz.

Andy will take on Omar Salcido (20-1, 14 KOs) tonight in a 10-round Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson fight at the Metrodome in Las Vegas . If Cruz looks vulnerable in this fight, it might give Keyshawn some courage to eventually fight him.

Keyshawn said this week that his focus is on winning the WBO belt from Belinchik and then seeking a unification fight with IBF champion Vasily Lomachenko. He’s counting on Top Rank to fight for him.

That didn’t happen, but that’s Keyshawn’s desperate hope. He won’t fight his friend Shakur Stevenson, and Gervinz Davis won’t waste time fighting him. That leaves Cruz.

“If I were a top player, I wouldn’t watch Andy Cruz because you would use the excuse, ‘Ah, no one knows who he is yet. He’s only played five games. Let’s be honest; build-up, The rivalry, the history, it’s a great fight,” Eddie Hearn said fight hype When asked if he would be willing to fight lightweight contenders Andy Cruz and Keyshawn Davis in 2025.

“I know Keyshawn, he’s a competitor, and he’s improved by the way. He’s always been a great fighter. He’s very good, Keyshawn, maybe he can beat Andy Cruz. He’s (Davis) lost to him four times in the amateurs. He never came close to beating him and everyone was like, “Yeah, but amateurs are amateurs. “

“Yeah, it’s true, but he (Keyshawn) still has never beaten him and it’s going to eat him up. I know Keyshawn is the winner and it’s going to wear him down. He wants to rectify that in the pros . So, he (Davis) is going to beat (WBO lightweight champion Denis) Belinchik (Feb. 14), but who knows? Andy has to win (against Omar Salcido). ). It’s not an easy fight,” Hearn said.