Legendary promoter Bob Arum has raised eyebrows by comparing unbeaten WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis to Sugar Ray Leonard. Arum sees similarities in talent and personality between Davis and the early career of the boxing icon.
The 26-year-old Davis from Norfolk, Virginia, has quickly made a name for himself in the lightweight division. He's racked up 13 wins with 9 knockouts and no losses so far. His most recent victory came on February 14 when he knocked out Denys Berynchyk in the 4th round to capture the WBO lightweight title.
Arum shared his thoughts on Davis in a recent interview with talkSPORT:
"We only realised what a great talent he was and you know, we brought him along relatively slowly, but he reminds me very much of Sugar Ray Leonard, when he was starting his great career, and Keyshawn is a marvelous, marvelous talent, and he has a great personality."
The comparison to Sugar Ray Leonard is no small praise. Leonard made his mark in the early 1980s with memorable victories over boxing legends. He reclaimed the WBC welterweight title from Roberto Duran in 1980, forcing Duran to quit in the 8th round of their rematch. Leonard also scored wins over Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns.
Davis will get a chance to further prove himself on June 7. He'll defend his title for the first time against Edwin De Los Santos in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.
Sugar Ray Leonard ended his career as one of the greatest fighters of all time. In 1989, he capped off his trilogy with Roberto Duran by winning a unanimous decision to defend his WBC super-middleweight crown.
Only time will tell if Davis can live up to the lofty comparison. But with his undefeated record and recent world title win, he's certainly off to a promising start.
