Andy Cruz says Keyshawn Davis “will always have excuses”

Andy Cruz said he does not expect a fight with Keyshawn to materialize.

Asked about the matchup, Cruz suggested the interest is not coming from the other side. He said Keyshawn is not looking to face him and will continue to find reasons not to take the fight.

“He will always have excuses not to fight me,” Cruz said to Fight Hub TV about Keyshawn.

Cruz said that Keyshawn “doesn’t want anything to do with me” when mentioning the possibility of the fight being made.

The history between the two goes back to the amateurs. Cruz defeated Keyshawn multiple times, including their meeting at the 2020 Olympics, where he outboxed him to win the gold medal. That result marked their fourth bout, all won by Cruz.

Since turning professional, Cruz has continued to mention Keyshawn as a potential opponent. Those efforts have not led to any confirmed talks or movement toward a fight. Keyshawn has ignored Andy’s callouts and chosen to fight arguably lesser fighters.

The situation has changed with weight. Cruz is still fighting at lightweight at 135 pounds. Keyshawn is moving up to welterweight at 147 pounds after his January 31 stoppage win over Jamaine Ortiz on the Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson undercard.

Keyshawn has been calling for a title shot against WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney and is being positioned for bigger fights at 147. His involvement on a Riyadh Season card earlier this year points in the same direction.

That leaves Cruz outside that picture unless he follows him up. A move to 140 pounds would bring him closer. A jump to 147 would put him directly in the same division.

Andy, 30, is coming off a majority decision loss to IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla in January. Staying at 135 limits his options, while moving up could put him in position for bigger fights, including a route back toward Keyshawn.

Cruz has to get busy, fighting often, preferably at 147, to put that defeat behind him. If he moves up to welterweight now and beats a few top 15 contenders, he’ll at least have a platform to argue for a fight against Keyshawn or a bigger name, like Devin Haney or Ryan Garcia.