Keyshawn Davis’s Blueprint: A “Legendary” First Defense Against Edwin De Los Santos Mirrors Shakur Stevenson’s Title-Milking Strategy

Keyshawn Davis says he’s about to be “legendary” for his first defense of his WBO lightweight title against Edwin De Los Santos in 18 days on June 7th at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) picked De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) fresh off the injury list, with him coming off a hand injury, a blood clot in his leg, and a 19-month layoff. This selection by Davis is seen as a business move to ensure that he doesn’t lose his WBO lightweight title in his first defense.

Davis’s “Legendary” Defense

Fans’ overall impression of Keyshawn is that he’s making a strategic move, selecting a less-abled De Los Santos to use the victory to validate himself. When De Los Santos was active, he would have been a formidable opponent, but he won’t be at his best given his long, nearly two-year layoff. De Los Santos is seen as a safe target for Keyshawn when comparing him to the killers that fans wanted him to fight, Andy Cruz and Raymond Muratalla. Keyshawn has shown no interest in fighting either of those talents, and you can understand why. They’re too good.

When Davis captured his WBO belt, he painted a picture of how everything was going to be different with him as the champion. He was supposedly going to fight all comers and duck no one. His choice of inactive De Los Santos, who lost his last fight, says otherwise.

It suggests that Keyshawn is going to milk his WBO title and use it as a perch for him to call out Gervonta Davis for a unification fight. In other words, do what his ‘brother’ Shakur Stevenson has been doing since he captured his WBC lightweight title. He’s been hounding Tank Davis 24/7 for a fight, telling the media that he deserves the fight because he holds a belt. Keyshawn will follow the same blueprint with the careful selection of opponents and the call-outs of Tank. It’s so predictable.

Keyshawn is quickly returning to the ring after capturing the WBO title with a fourth-round knockout of Denys Berinchyk on February 14th at Madison Square Garden in New York. After the fight, Davis said he wanted to fight Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, but that failed to happen. That would have been a bad choice, too. Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela recently beat Pitbull.

Undercard

Abdullah Mason vs. Jeremia Nakathila
Keon Davis vs. Michael A. Velez-Garcia

Only if yall can see me in camp.😮‍💨 #June7th is about to be legendary again.⭐️

— Keyshawn Davis (@KeyshawnDavis8) May 17, 2025