By: Sean Crose
Keyshawn Davis is no longer the WBO lightweight champion of the world. He lost his world title not in the ring, but on the scales. For on Friday, as he weighed in for his Saturday night fight against Edwin De Los Santos, Davis tipped the scales at over 139 pounds – four plus pounds heavier than he was supposed to be for a lightweight title fight. For his own part, De Los Santos made weight logging in a few ounces under the 135 pound limit. It’s hard to imagine what Davis’ excuses might be. Needless to say, Davis didn’t try getting back on the scale.
“I outgrew the weight,” Davis said, via Ring Magazine. “I been making this weight for over four years now. I just outgrew the weight. I tried. I was up late last night. I woke up early this morning, trying to make the weight. I just outgrew the weight, man. I was feeling it the last time I was fighting Berinchyk. I thank God that I made it. Y’all don’t know how I was feel making it. But hey, it is what it is.” It is what it is, indeed. This is all quite depressing news for those who bought tickets for this weekend’s fight, which is going down in Davis’ native Norfolk, Virginia, at the city’s Scope Arena.
How things change. Earlier this year Davis won the WBO world title by stopping Denys Berinchyk in four. De Los Santos, on the other hand, was last seen fighting Shakur Stevenson in what turned out to be a brutally boring affair. Now it will be Davis whose the target of derision while De Los Santos is coming across as the more sympathetic of the two fighters. Unlike the defending champion, De Los Santos was able to make weight, after all.
Although Davis has stated he wants to move up to junior welterweight, it’s hard to see how any of this acts as a positive for the Virginian. A win will possibly be seen as having come with an unfair advantage. What’s more, a brutal win might come across as the work of a bully. And should De Los Santos pull off the upset, Davis’ career will take a serious hit to say the least. Davis is not expected to lose, though, which arguably makes this not so good look rather puzzling. Why, one might wonder, has Davis’ weight issues only come to light now?
