Keyshawn Davis blasted Denys Berinchyk in four rounds on February 14 and captured the WBO lightweight belt at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York.

It was a one-sided fight, as an economical Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) needed just 20 landed punches to drop Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KOs) twice, both of which came courtesy of body shots.

“It feels great to be a world champion. We're on the big stage now and I am excited for what the future holds,” Davis said in an interview with The Ring. “I'm not going to lie. It definitely was an easy night. You might not believe this, but when I was in the ring with Gustavo Lemos in November, I was being a lot more thoughtful and patient. He had me thinking a little more. When I was in there with Berinchyk, he had nothing for me to worry about. I just had to make sure I didn't make any mistakes to get caught with something stupid. I felt like I could do anything to him. When I heard the 'Norfolk' chant, in my head I said, 'I have to knock him out right now.' And I did. Everything worked out the way I wanted to.

“I already knew it was going to be easy. I study boxing. And I know myself. I know that nobody can compete with me physically at 135. There are some great fighters that have great IQ at 135. I am so big, so strong, and so fast. I just have all of the natural attributes and gifts at 135 … I saw how strong Berinchyk was and that it was going to be a physical fight. For the most part, I was trying to make it physical, but he was moving. He was backing up, and I knew that I had to chase the leprechaun.”

Davis is The Ring’s No. 5 ranked fighter at 135 pounds and now joins champions like Gervonta Davis (WBA), Vasiliy Lomachenko (IBF), and Shakur Stevenson (WBC).

The 25-year-old Virginia native and 2020 Olympic silver medalist whitewashed Lemos in two rounds in November to set up his first career title shot against Berinchyk.