Keyshawn Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) claimed the WBO lightweight world title in just his 14th professional fight, knocking out fellow Olympic silver medalistDenys Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KOs) with a left hook to the body in the fourth round Friday evening at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Days after an ugly fight-week controversy between the two, Davis refused to let his emotions get the best of him. He stayed composed, picked Berinchyk apart, and closed the show.

The 25-year-old had to navigate Berinchyk’s constant feinting and in-and-out movement early, but by the third round, he had found his rhythm, timing him with right hands on the way in and dropping him with a left to the body.

Seizing on the success of his midsection attack, Davis doubled down in the fourth. As Berinchyk stepped in, Davis countered with a right and left downstairs, the latter folding him to the canvas.

Berinchyk tried to get up, but referee Harvey Dock waved it off at 1:45.

Davis said, “It was an amazing feeling. Right before I knocked him out, I was hearing the crowd saying, ‘Norfolk! Norfolk! Norfolk!’ I was like, ‘I’ve got to knock him out now! Boom!’”

“I never really had problems with awkward fighters. The only thing that was giving me trouble was how he kept jumping in and out. And he was a little faster than I expected. As the rounds went on, I got more comfortable in there, and in the fourth round, I did it to him.”

“My son was here. I had to show up for my son, Keyshawn Jr. He was in the crowd watching me. It means a lot to me now. When he looks back at this day, he’s going to be proud of his father.”

“I want anybody who has the balls to step in the ring and fight me. There are two 135-pound champions that I would love to fight. If they have the guts to step in the ring with ‘The Businessman,’ tell them to send me a contract, or I can send them one.”

X Marks The Sport

Puerto Rican star Xander Zayas lived up to his WBO No. 1 junior middleweight ranking, stopping tough-as-nails German contender Slawa Spomer (20-1, 11 KOs) in the ninth round of a pitched co-feature.

Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) invested in the body early and often, and it eventually paid dividends. He spent most of the fight chipping away and building a comfortable lead before seizing his moment.

Expecting a hook upstairs, Spomer left his body open, and Zayas buried a left to the liver. Spomer never recovered as Zayas pounced, pouring it on until referee Charlie Fitch had seen enough.

Zayas retained his pair of regional straps at 2:01of the ninth round.

Zayas said, “I knew from the first round that he would wear down little by little. In the third or fourth, I hurt him, and he got me with a good shot. But I went to my corner, and they told me to keep fighting intelligently because we had 10 rounds to wear him down. And by the eighth and ninth, they told me, let’s step it up with the combinations, and we started to land with more power to get the finish.”

“On paper, he was my toughest opponent to date, and I stopped him. I have passed every test that has been put in front of me, and I feel I’m ready to fight for a world title right now. I want that next.”

Mielnicki and Coyle Battle to a Majority Draw

New Jersey-born middleweight Vito Mielnicki Jr.(20-1-1, 12 KOs) and world-ranked Irishman Connor “The Kid” Coyle (21-0-1, 9 KOs) fought to a 10-round majority draw.

Mielnicki pressed the action early, backing Coyle up with stiff jabs and hard right hands, but Coyle came alive in the third, trading in the center of the ring. A right uppercut from Mielnicki opened a cut over Coyle’s left eye in the fourth, but Coyle responded with a sharp right hand of his own.

The back-and-forth continued, with Mielnicki landing the bigger single shots while Coyle succeeded with combination work. Mielnicki surged late, staggering Coyle in the ninth and tenth, though Coyle answered with sharp counters to edge enough rounds to escape with a draw.

One judge scored it 96-94 for Mielnicki, which was overruled by two scores of 95-95.

Junior Bantamweight: Juanmita Lopez De Jesus (1-0, 1 KO) made a statement in his debut in the paid ranks, starching Bryan Santiago(1-2-1) with a left uppercut that stiffened him in the middle of the canvas at :59 of the opening stanza. Lopez is the son of former two-division world champion Juan Manuel “JuanMa” Lopez.

Lightweight: Abdullah Mason (17-0, 15 KOs) made the leap from prospect to contender, battering Manuel Jaimes (16-3-1, 11 KOs) en route to a fourth-round TKO. The 20-year-old phenom was too fast, snapping Jaimes’ head back with a stiff jab before unloading power shots he never saw coming. Mason dropped him four times before referee David Fields stopped it at 1:55.

“I said the same thing {about no longer being called a prospect}. We say the same thing. We want the belts, world championship,” Mason said. “I gotta keep doing what I’m doing and making these guys look the way I’ve been doing since I turned pro.”

Welterweight: Dominican Olympian Rohan Polanco (15-0, 10 KOs) made quick work of Jean Carlos Torres (22-2, 17 KOs), securing a second-round TKO. Polanco dropped Torres with a left hook to the side of the head in the opening round. In the second, a flurry of unanswered punches prompted referee Eddie Claudio to stop the contest at 1:48.

Welterweight: Keon Davis (2-0, 1 KO),  Keyshawn’s younger brother, notched his first stoppage victory as a pro by halting Ira Johnson(3-3, 2 KOs) in the second round. Davis dropped Johnson with a right hand to the body before finishing him off with a flurry. Time of stoppage: 1:38.

Heavyweight: Jared Anderson (18-1, 15 KOs) rebounded from his first career loss with a 10-round unanimous decision over Marios Kollias (12-4-1, 10 KOs). Scores: 99-91 2x and 98-92.

Middleweight: Juan Carlos Guerra (6-1-1, 2 KOs) upset Nico Ali Walsh (11-2, 5 KOs) via six-round split decision. Scores: 58-56 Guerra 2x and 58-56 Ali Walsh.