American Keyshawn Davis bites down to earn a win over Gabil Mamedov
Lightweight Keyshawn Davis has been one of the stars of the Tokyo Olympics boxing tournament. The 22-year-old from Norfolk, Virginia has impressed through the early rounds, dominating the competition so far. He was looking to continue the momentum in his quarterfinal bout against Gabil Mamedov of ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Davis has overwhelmed his foes with his speed, timing, boxing intelligence, and thunderous right hand. In the first two rounds, he used his jab and footwork to combat and neutralize the swarming style of the Russian. Mamedov was reduced to mainly chasing and mugging the American when he got on the inside.
IT’S ALL ON THE LINE
After two rounds, it appeared that Davis would be ahead on the scorecards. However, this is amateur boxing, where the judging can be inconsistent, to put it politely. Going into the final round, the fight was in the balance. The judges had him level on four scorecards and behind on the fifth. That’s when Davis showed he had a clutch gene and took his game to another level.
He steeled his nerves and his punches became sharper and crisper. With 1:50 to go in the round, Mamedov was given a standing eight-count after being rocked by a Davis left hook/right-hand combination. From there, the Virginian poured on the pressure with body punches to close the show and seal the win.
In the end, Davis eked out a win on four of the five judges scorecards (29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29) to advance to the semifinal round, where he’s guaranteed a Bronze medal. His semifinal opponent will be Hovhannes Bachkov of Armenia.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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