Davis vs Pedraza Prediction: Will Davis’ Dominance Endure?

While the fight at the top of this Top Rank card’s bill might be stealing all of the headlines, our Davis vs Pedraza prediction is that this co-main event bout will be the talk of Las Vegas by Friday morning.

Although both of these fighters are at different points in their respective careers, both suffered a disappointing result in their last fight — albeit in very different ways. For that reason, a fair Keyshawn Davis vs Jose Pedraza prediction to expect is that both of these boxers will be entering the ring with something to prove on Thursday night.

Lopez vs Ortiz: Davis vs Pedraza Prediction

Keyshawn Davis Preview

The most recent fight on Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis — an American boxer with a 9-0 record, which includes six KO victories — record told us a few important things about how good of a boxer he can really be.

Due to Davis’ dominance over his opponent, Nahir Albright, during that October 2023 fight, Davis showed the boxing world that he is just as elite of a prospect as many have long believed.

Yet, none of that ended up mattering, as the fight was overturned to a no-contest after Davis tested positive for marijuana.

While the positive test and resulting no contest really doesn’t tell us anything about Davis’ potential, it’s still a disappointing blemish on Davis’ professional record that he would be wise to ensure doesn’t happen again.

But let’s assume that Davis has learned his lesson, so that we can talk about his excellent boxing ability.

Keyshawn Davis blends elite athleticism and adept boxing instincts to become an exasperating problem for any opponent to deal with. Davis does his best damage with counter punches, utilizing his fantastic footwork to slip out of range while his opponents overthrow, leaving an opening for Davis to capitalize on with vicious intent.

Our Davis vs Pedraza prediction is that “The Businessman” will come out with a more measured approach, setting up combinations behind his jab and setting traps for Pedraza that Davis will be keen to capitalize on later in the fight.

If Davis does indeed manage to stay away from Pedraza’s power, we can expect to see why Keyshawn Davis is such a heavy favorite heading into Thursday’s fight.

Jose Pedraza Preview

While he doesn’t have the most beautiful boxing record, there’s no doubt that Jose “Sniper Pedraza — a Puerto Rican boxer with a 25-5-1 record, which includes 14 KO victories — has gone toe to toe with some of the world’s best boxers.

While having come up short against both Gervonta Davis and Vasyl Lomachenko over the years, Pedraza has also produced some excellent moments inside the ring; most notably when he landed 55 unanswered punches during a decision win against Mikkel LesPierre in July 2020.

What LesPierre does best is shown in that impressive 55-punch display: mixing up his combinations to the head and body with both hands.

Of course, that is much easier to do when his opponent is backed up against the ring, in all-out defense mode — which is a position that we don’t expect to see from Davis on Thursday night.

Yet, our Davis vs Pedraza prediction is that if Pedraza can stun Davis in the early rounds with one of his powerful combinations, that might be enough to convince Davis — the counter-puncher — to remain fighting on his back foot enough to steal Pedraza rounds and perhaps even secure the massive upset.

If Pedraza does manage to secure such a seismic upset, we can surely expect his payout to increase in the coming fights.

Keyshawn Davis vs Jose Pedraza: Davis Dominates From Bell to Bell

Our official Davis vs Pedraza prediction is that Keyshawn Davis will win the fight by decision. 

Considering that Pedraza seems to be on the latter half of his career, we expect the younger, fresher Davis to prove why he’s such a gigantic favorite in this fight. We expect that Davis will display his massive advantage in athleticism, and be able to use that to evade Pedraza’s punches and employ his own counter-centric boxing style.

Yet, because Davis isn’t the most powerful puncher, we believe that taking Davis to win by decision would be your best bet.

Unless Davis doesn’t show up in the way we expect him to on Thursday night, we don’t see an avenue for Pedraza to emerge victorious. Yet, if he does manage to secure a massive upset, we believe it would either be by decision, or occur via knockout in the later rounds. Therefore, we think that taking the Over 8.5 rounds (available at -290) is another solid bet. 

With a dominant win on Thursday, Keyshawn Davis could show the world why he is a future title contender at the 140 pound division; perhaps even earning himself a fight against whoever wins the main event.