On the high-profile undercard of Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson, Keyshawn Davis and Bruce Carrington headline.
Former WBO light-welterweight world champion Keyshawn Davis celebrated his semi-welterweight debut in impressive style. In the co-main event of Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson, Davis put down a clear marker in the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City. The unbeaten American stopped former world title challenger Jamaine Ortiz in the twelfth and final round.
Davis (14-0, 9 knockouts) sent Ortiz (20-3-1, 10 knockouts) to the floor in the eleventh round, but it was a left hook to the body that finally ended the fight. A statement win and a successful debut in a new weight class.
Bruce Carrington also made history on the undercard. The 28-year-old American secured the vacant WBC featherweight world title with a knockout in round nine against Carlos Castro. Carrington (17-0, 10 knockouts) had to survive some dicey moments, but was ahead on all three scorecards before closing the bag. A cracking right punch to the chin ended the fight and crowned him the new world champion.
In heavyweight action, Jarrell Miller earned a narrow split-decision victory over Kingsley Ibeh. Miller (27-1-2, 22 knockouts) overcame an aggressive start from his opponent to prevail on two scorecards, 97-93, while one judge saw Ibeh (16-2-1, 14 knockouts) come out on top, 96-94.
Ziyad Almaayouf provided the surprise of the evening. The Saudi Arabian light-welterweight talent suffered his first career defeat against Kevin Castillo. Almaayouf (7-1-1, 1 knockout) lost by unanimous decision on points over eight rounds, with the judges scoring the fight 77-74, 78-73 and 77-74 in favor of Castillo (6-2-2).
In the middleweight division, Austin Williams had to change his plans at short notice. His planned WBC title fight against Carlos Adams was canceled due to the Dominican champion’s illness. Wendy Toussaint stepped in as a late replacement for a ten-round non-title fight. Williams (20-1, 13 knockouts) clearly controlled the action as a southpaw and won unanimously on points with scores of 99-90, 98-91 and 99-90.