Before Andy Cruz threw his first professional punch, he had a natural rivalry.
Keyshawn Davis is known as a hotshot prospect with a ton of talent and even more upside. However, whenever he came across Cruz in the amateurs, which happened on four separate occasions, Davis came out on the losing end. Beating Davis is always a sweet feeling, but the final time they met was the sweetest.
With an Olympic gold medal on the line, it was the same ole song and dance for Davis as he watched despondently as Cruz celebrated another win. Davis won’t deny Cruz’s success. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. Still, that was in the amateur game. Davis has promised to put a beating on him if they meet in the pros.
The 28-year-old Cuban always flashes a bright smile when going about his day, but when Davis’ name is brought up, you could count every single tooth in his grinning mouth. Currently, it doesn’t make much sense for Cruz to entertain a showdown with Davis. Neither man has a world title or a ton of fanfare behind them. With that said, Cruz fully expects them to get it on at some point.
“That fight is gonna happen down the road,” Cruz told YSM Sports Media.
Back-to-back gold medals has Cruz hitting the accelerator button on his career. But he still has work to do in order to catch up to Davis. The 24-year-old recently bagged his first win over a former world champion in Jose Pedraza, while Cruz is preparing for just his third professional fight against longtime journeyman, Brayan Zamarripa Rodriguez.
Cruz won’t get much credit for beating Rodriguez but getting accustomed to the pro game is still a work in progress. No matter who Matchroom places in front of him, he knows that it’s just leading him up to a showdown with Davis. Once that day does happen, the former two-time Olympic gold medalist will be prepared to the fullest.
“For the meantime, I’m going to continue to work and continue to improve with my craft. When it happens, I’m going to be more than ready.”