To Keyshawn Davis, shining in front of his Norfolk, Virginia, fans means a lot to him and, he hopes, his career and his people. The lightweight prospect wants to send a strong signal that anyone from his hometown can lift themselves up.
Norfolk’s Davis, 25, will lock horns with 28-year-old Gustavo Lemos of Argentina in a 10-round card at Scope Arena on Nov. 8. The fight is expected to be Davis’ maiden homecoming fight at the storied venue – and the first boxing event since Norfolk legend Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker defended his welterweight crown against Buddy McGirt in October 1994.
Given the attraction that the show figures to be – his brothers Kelvin and Keon will also fight on the bill – Davis wants to use the fight against Lemos as a tool to market his hometown.
“This is an honor. I appreciate everyone for coming out,” said Davis. “Top Rank is here and putting on this show for us, for the town and for the 757. It’s going to be a Michael Jordan story on Nov. 8.
“This event is bigger than us. I want to reach as many people as I can with this event so that the people from this town know that you can make it from here. There are resources here. And we’re bringing resources here, like a gym that kids can go to. I want this event to reach many people. I want the Seven Cities to be on the map, so they can be like Atlanta, New York or Chicago.”
Davis (11-0, 7 KOs) is one of the best young fighters at 135 pounds. In February, he stopped former WBO titleholder Jose Pedraza in six rounds upon his return from a 90-day suspension by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Davis had tested positive for marijuana after the Nahir Albright bout last October.
Five months later, after destroying Pedraza, Davis followed up with a 10-round unanimous decision win over Miguel Madueno at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The bout with Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs), who is coming off a loss to Richardson Hitchins in April – the first defeat of his career – is inarguably one of Davis’ stiffest challenges yet. Still, he’s as confident as ever.
“I hand-picked this opponent because I know he can fight,” he said. “He’s a good fighter. But I’m a dangerous fighter. Just know that if you come with that, I’m going to come with that, too. Gustavo Lemos is going to try all that extra stuff, but ya’ll know how we rock out here. Norfolk is not going for any of that. I’m going to tone him right on down, and we are going to have a fun night on Friday, Nov. 8.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.