Keyshawn Davis is back to defend his WBO lightweight title this Saturday, May 31st, against #14 ranked Edwin De Los Santos on ESPN. Davis, 26, will have a hometown advantage, fighting at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. The event will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN+
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
The fan interest in Davis’s fight against the recently inactive and injured De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) has been underwhelming, with fans viewing this as another Top Rank pick to protect their champion from being picked clean by predators, Andy Cruz and Raymond Muratalla. While Keyshawn has talked about fighting Cruz ‘one of these days,’ no one takes him seriously because he’s rapidly outgrowing the 135-lb division.
Keyshawn Davis’s Weight Battle
At the weigh-ins for Keyshawn’s last two fights, he’s looked emaciated from weight loss, and drained as much as a fighter can be without collapsing. He’s clearly going to be forced to move up in weight soon, which means he’ll never fight Cruz, Muratalla, or Abdullah Mason.
This choice of Edwin is viewed as a downgrade by fans from Keyshawn’s previous opponent, Denys Berinchyk, whom he knocked out in the fourth round last February. It’s the main reason fans see Keyshawn as dodging A-level fighters at 135, trying to stay on top as long as he can before moving up to 140 or 147.
Davis’s Shakur Stevenson Playbook
Selecting De Los Santos has backfired on Keyshawn, as the interest in this fight has been extremely low, and it hasn’t helped his marketability. Choosing inactive fighters coming off a loss and a two-year layoff isn’t the smartest thing to do if you’re trying to increase you’re popularity. However, it offers a glimpse into what Davis’ career strategy is. Taking the cautious path, the way his ‘brother,’ Shakur Stevenson, did when he was with Top Rank. Shakur was fighting the softest opposition before he bailed to sign with Matchroom.
De Los Santos, 26, has been injured and sitting on the shelf for the last two years after his loss to Shakur Stevenson in 2023. He gave the defensive artist a lot of problems in that fight, but didn’t have the wheels to chase him around the ring to get the W.
Some saw that as a sign that he lacked the willingness to put himself in a position of being countered by Shakur. Either way, De Los Santos didn’t do enough in a winnable fight to get the victory.
BACK LIKE WE NEVER LEFT, NORFOLK 🌟#KeyshawnDeLosSantos | JUN 7 | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/MCXjBfxlNn
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) June 2, 2025
De Los Santos Promises Upset
In a recent interview with Fighthype, De Los Santos said, “If I connect, I don’t think the fight will continue because it’ll end right there.” He adds that his plan is to “take over that city” [Norfolk, Davis’ hometown] on Saturday night.
Peep stuff, keep it moving everyone is business.⭐️ It’s finally fight week!🥳
— Keyshawn Davis (@KeyshawnDavis8) June 1, 2025
Last Updated on 06/02/2025
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2025-06-02 15:06:36
