Davis accused Berinchyk of sending him a box of bananas and a watermelon ahead of their title fight. Top Rank has said it is “disgusted” by an alleged racist act in the lead-up to Keyshawn Davis vs Denys Berinchyk, after Davis accused his opponent of sending him a box of bananas and a watermelon. Davis made the accusation against the Ukrainian at a press conference on Wednesday (13 February), ahead of Friday’s fight for Berinchyk’s WBO lightweight belt.
![[Keyshawn Davis (right) during his win over Miguel Madueno in 2024]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/13/10/24/GettyImages-2160965483.jpg)
The American, 25, said: “I wanna address the fact that this guy came to America to give me bananas and a watermelon with a note on it. It’s unprofessional, and I feel like it’s racist, and you just made this fight a little more personal. Berinchyk, whose response was translated into English by his promoter Alex Krassyuk, denied the accusation. He said: “First thing I wanna say is that I don’t speak English and I don’t write English. I saw his message on the media. It’s weird even to mention this. Some people with bad intentions, looking for some hype, made this...”.
![[Denys Berinchyk (second-left) celebrates beating Yvan Mendy in 2022]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/13/10/12/GettyImages-1446535803.jpeg)
Davis hit back: “He ain’t say all that. Look, y’all did it, it’s okay that y’all did it, I’m gonna whoop your ass for it. So, just come Friday night.” Berinchyk, 36, responded: “First thing you need to do is make weight.”. Then, during a face-off between the unbeaten boxers, Davis repeatedly called Berinchyk “racist”. Top Rank, which is holding the event at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City, later issued a statement on the matter.
