Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis got back to business Saturday night as the Norfolk native beat Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz by technical knockout with 12 seconds left in the 12th round at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Davis hadn’t fought since last February at Madison Square Garden, when he punished Denys Berinchyk with a fourth-round knockout to become the World Boxing Organization lightweight champion at 135 pounds. He was scheduled to make a triumphant title defense June 7 at Scope in Norfolk in front of a hometown crowd, but he failed to make weight for his bout against Edwin De Los Santos.
Davis came back better than ever with a new team, new trainer and new weight at 140 pounds.
And he dominated throughout.
He had promised a knockout and delivered, dropping Ortiz twice to his knees before finishing him off in the final round when the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
Davis, who improved to 14-0 with 10 KOs, became the first fighter to knock out Ortiz.
The two fought as the co-main event prior to the Teofimo Lopez-Shakur Stevenson fight.
“It’s amazing. I’m blessed to be back on one of the biggest cards of the year,” Davis said prior to the fight. “I can’t wait to fight.”
Davis, who thanked God for his return, walked out to the ring with his brothers, Kelvin and Keon, by his side with the gospel song, “Goodness of God” by CeCe Winans playing as he entered the ring.
“You’re going to see the energy switch as soon as I start walking out into the arena and going into the ring. You’re going to see the crowd just going crazy because they know what to expect,” Davis said prior to the fight. “I’m super-unpredictable in the best ways. I’m just blessed to have this God-given abilities and to perform and to perform on these platforms like this.”
Once inside the ring, Davis showed why he’s one of the best power punchers in the sport as he pummeled Ortiz with one body blow after another.
He promised that when he said earlier in the month that “you going to see how hard I’m punching.”
And he proved it as he made people forget about what happened last year and showed why his future looks bright again in boxing.
