Keyshawn Davis loses WBO light-welterweight title after significantly exceeding the weight limit – main event against Edwin De Los Santos canceled.
In a dramatic turning point on the road to his first title defense, Keyshawn Davis was stripped of his WBO lightweight world title after being well over the limit at the official weigh-in. The eagerly awaited fight against Edwin De Los Santos was subsequently canceled – a hard blow for everyone involved.
The main fight originally scheduled for Saturday evening at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, has therefore been canceled. Instead, the duel between the unbeaten US talent Abdullah Mason and the battle-hardened Namibian Jeremia Nakathila has been moved to the main event. The lightweight match is scheduled for ten rounds.
Davis (13-0, 9 knockouts) weighed in at 139.3 pounds – more than four pounds over the 135-pound limit. This meant he was already scraping the limit for the super lightweight division. De Los Santos, on the other hand, remained within the weight limit at 134.7 pounds.
“I was up late at night and got up early to make the weight,” Davis said in an interview with Top Rank reporter Crystina Poncher. “I’ve been doing this weight for four years now. I just grew out of it. It is what it is. I’m pretty sure he (De Los Santos) will still take the fight. The show must go on.”
But the show doesn’t go on – at least not with Davis in the main event. The US-American had already indicated before the weigh-in that he wanted to move up to super lightweight (140 pounds) after his first title defense: “I was planning to go to the 140-pound limit after this fight anyway.”
Davis’ first world championship reign came to an abrupt end with the missed weight and the title stripping – leaving question marks over his future at lightweight. One thing is clear: the road to the title will now be tougher. The competition is waiting – and it weighs exactly.