Denys Berinchyk could not have been clearer after his title winning effort over Emanuel Navarrete that he didn’t care who was next.

The response in return was clear that only one lightweight was willing to take him up on that challenge.

“Yeah, exactly. I told everyone, I don’t give a f---,” Berinchyk told The Ring, laughing as he recalled his post-fight comments from last May. “I guess everyone else did except for Keyshawn Davis.

“I mentioned three names that I figured I could fight next. [WBC lightweight titlist] Shakur Stevenson, Keyshawn Davis and [unbeaten contender] Raymond Muratalla. The other guys went their way so when we had the chance to fight Keyshawn, it was like we got our wish.”

Ukraine’s Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) is set to make the first defense of his WBO lightweight title against unbeaten challenger Keyshawn Davis (12-0, 8 KOs; 1 No Contest). Their scheduled 12-round bout headlines an ESPN telecast this Friday from Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City.

The ultimate goal after Berinchyk’s upset win over Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) was to chase down unification bouts. He specifically called out WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 lightweight who didn’t particularly show any interest.

Berinchyk, The Ring’s No. 6 lightweight, instead shifted his attention to a planned title defense last December 18. The hope was to join stablemate Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14KOs), The Ring and unified heavyweight champion who was set to rematch Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The inability to secure an acceptable opponent instead led his team to hold out for a more meaningful fight.

Fortunately, Davis, The Ring’s No. 7 lightweight, answered the call.

“We had negotiations for a title fight in Saudi Arabia last December,” Berinchyk explained. “The fight never happened for us. Eventually, they stopped trying for it and they gave us an alternative to defend in February. This fight was offered to us and we said yes right away.

“It’s a very meaningful to me, Keyshawn is one of the best lightweight challengers. It means more to take this fight waiting two more months than just trying to find any opponent for the fight in December.”