Ahead of the first defense of his WBO lightweight title against Edwin De Los Santos, Keyshawn Davis weighed in more than four pounds over the 135lbs limit.
“He lost the first battle, and now we’re going into the second one,” De Los Santos, who came in at 134.7lbs said on stage following the weigh-in.
“A lot more motivation now. It got a lot better now,” De Los Santos said when told that if Davis couldn’t shed the extra weight in the following hour, he would be the only fighter eligible to win the title on Saturday night at Scope Arena in Norfolk.
Team De Los Santos initially declined a face-off, to which Davis insisted he wouldn’t touch his opponent. In their face-off following the press conference yesterday, De Los Santos tugged at Davis’ WBO belt. Davis slapped his hand away, then shoved De Los Santos hard in the chest. Apparently the initial gesture was prophetic.
“Are you gonna try [to make weight]?” Top Rank commentator Crystina Poncher asked Davis after the touch-less face-off.
“Nah, I outgrew the weight,” Davis said sheepishly. “Been making this weight for over four years now…I was up late last night, I woke up early this morning trying to make the weight. I just outgrew the weight…it is what it is.”
“I’m pretty sure he’ll still take the fight. The show must go on.”
The penalty Davis will pay for missing weight so badly, an echo of his recent opponent Gustavo Lemos, who came into their November 2024 bout even more egregiously over the limit, is yet to be determined.
Poncher asked Davis if this would be his last fight at 140lbs. Davis ducked the question, talking more about putting on a show. To her credit, Poncher followed up sharply, and earned a straight answer.
“I mean, I was honestly gonna go to 140 after this anyways,” Davis said.
Abdullah Mason, whom Davis called out this week, is the star of the co-main event. The electric lightweight action fighter will take on Jeremia Nakathila in what he hopes will draw him closer to a title shot.
Also on the card are two of Davis’ brothers, Kelvin and Keon, making up the oft-mentioned “DB3.” Kelvin Davis, 6ft 1ins, needed two tries to make weight, initially coming in at 140.1lbs for his junior welterweight scrap against Nahir Albright. The brothers are from Norfolk and will fight in front of plenty of adoring fans.
Full weights for the card are below.
12 rounds, lightweights
Keyshawn Davis - 139.3lbs
Edwin De Los Santos - 134.7lbs
10 rounds, lightweights
Abdullah Mason - 134.5lbs
Jeremia Nakathila - 134.8lbs
10 rounds, junior welterweights
Kelvin Davis - 140.0lbs
Nahir Albright - 139.0lbs
10 rounds, welterweights
Tiger Johnson - 146.5lbs
Janelson Bocachica - 147.4lbs
10 rounds, middleweights
Troy Isley - 159.9lbs
Etoundi Michel William - 159.7lbs
6 rounds, contracted at 150lbs
Keon Davis - 149.2lbs
Michael Velez-Garcia - 149.8lbs
10 rounds, middleweights
Euri Cedeno - 160.0lbs
Abel Mina - 158.9lbs
6 rounds, contracted at 136lbs
Deric Davis - 134.2lbs
Naheem Parker - 136.4lbs
4 rounds, cruiserweights
Patrick O’Connor - 199.0lbs
Marcus Smith - 190.6lbs