Notebook: Davis badly misses weight, title stripped, fight canceled
Rest of Top Rank card goes on; 4-division titlist Tanaka retires due to eye issues; pregnant Thorslund withdraws, vacates; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Keyshawn Davis badly missed weight, was stripped of the WBO lightweight title and forfeited a $1 million-plus payday when his fight with Edwin De Los Santos was canceled hours after a disastrous weigh-in on Friday afternoon.
Davis was scheduled to make his first 135-pound title defense at the Scope Arena in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, in the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Saturday (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET), but he weighed in at 139.3 pounds, a whopping 4.3 over the limit. A gaunt De Los Santos, who looked as though he had a harsh weight cut, weighed 134.7.
Although the fight was canceled the remainder of the card will still go forward.
The Davis and De Los Santos camps discussed the parameters under which the fight could go forward, which would have included Davis paying De Los Santos around $300,000 from his purse as a penalty as well as Davis having to appear at a Saturday morning weight check. He would not have been permitted to weigh more than 10 pounds over what he was at the official weigh-in and if he did would have been subject to an additional $100,000 penalty per pound over.
But in the end, De Los Santos promoter Sampson Lewkowicz and trainer Humberto Betancourt decided not to finalize a deal.
“It’s irresponsible. He’s not a professional,” Lewkowicz said about Davis to Fight Freaks Unite. “The trainer and myself made the decision not to take the fight regardless of the money because the health of our fighter is more important, so it is off.”
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Lewkowicz said he did not believe Davis made a serious effort to make weight because of what he saw backstage at the weigh-in.
“He never made an effort to fight at 135. I believe he trained to fight at 140 and that is a lethal weapon,” Lewkowicz said. “I saw it with my own eyes — he was happy, jumping around, dancing backstage before the weigh-in. He was happy. With that I realized he never trained to fight at 135. When I saw him happy and dancing I realized this. If you’re suffering making weight you’re not dancing around.
“I have 30 years in this business. I know this is a fact. He tried to hurt my guy and I will not allow it. He needs to be an example for the future. Money cannot buy my fighter his health. My guy made the weight. The money is secondary. We show to the world that you do not take a chance with health for money. That is a horrible decision.”
De Los Santos loses out on a mid-six-figure payday but Lewkowicz and Top Rank said they will discuss him receiving at least some compensation and perhaps his entire purse.
“Even with the weight-check on Saturday we knew that it was risky,” Lewkowicz said. “(Davis) will be a middleweight on fight night against a welterweight. My fighter wants to fight. Of course, he does. He’s a fighter, but we need to do right by him. I believe I did the right thing.”
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Davis’ promoter, was frustrated by the turn of events.
“The show will go on without the main event and it’s just really terrible,” Arum told Fight Freaks Unite. “If it had been one or two pounds we probably could have worked everything out. But it was close to five pounds. It’s ridiculous.”
Arum also had doubts that Davis made a true effort to meet his contract weight.
“He certainly didn’t look like somebody that really tried to make the weight,” Arum said. “No, he didn’t apologize. These guys have to understand that the weight thing is in for a reason and it’s inexcusable.
“I’m really chagrined. I don’t know what his guy was thinking. I don’t know what all the trainers that he has (led by Brian McIntyre) are doing. I don’t understand it anymore. It’s very disappointing, especially in the kid’s hometown.”
Davis (13-0, 9 KOs), 26, a 2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist and the 2022 prospect of the year, won the title on Feb. 14 in New York, where he blew away undefeated Denys Berinchyk in the fourth round in a dominating performance. He was set for the second fight of his pro career in his hometown and the card was a major event in Norfolk.
Davis had one hour to attempt to lose at least some of the excess weight, but he did not bother to try. Now he will move up to the 140-pound junior welterweight division.
“I outgrew the weight,” Davis said on stage after missing weight. “I’ve been making this weight for over four years now. I outgrew the weight. I tried. I was up late (Thursday) night trying to make it. I woke up early this morning trying to make the weight. I just outgrew the weight, man. I was feeling (weight issues) last time when I was fighting Berinchyk. Thank God I made it. It is what it is.
“Hopefully, everything still goes through as planned. I’m pretty sure he’ll still take the fight and the show must go on. I was going to 140 after this anyway, honestly.”
The cancellation will extend a long layoff for De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs), 25, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, who has not fought since November 2023, when he lost a desultory unanimous decision to Shakur Stevenson challenging for the vacant WBC lightweight title.
Saturday’s original co-feature, a 10-rounder between lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason (18-0, 16 KOs), 21, a Cleveland southpaw, and Jeremia Nakathila (26-4, 21 KOs), 35, of Namibia, will move into the main event slot.
A 10-round preliminary bout between southpaw junior welterweight Kelvin Davis (15-0, 8 KOs), 28, of Norfolk, who is Keyshawn’s older brother, and Nahir Albright (16-2, 7 KOs), 29, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, will move onto the main card and open the doubleheader.
Kosei Tanaka retires
Kosei Tanaka, who won world titles in four divisions — strawweight, junior flyweight, flyweight and junior bantamweight — announced his retirement this week at age 29, citing eye issues.
“I am retiring as a professional boxer. 11 years of professional life. Thank you so much for all your support over the years,” Tanaka posted to social media in Japanese and translated into English. “The reason is entirely due to repeated eye injuries.”
Tanaka (20-2, 11 KOs), who turned pro in 2013, won the vacant WBO strawweight title in his fifth fight in 2015, the record for fewest bouts needed for a Japanese fighter to win a world title, when he outpointed Julian Yedras.
Tanaka made one defense and then knocked out Moises Fuentes in the fifth round to win the vacant WBO junior flyweight title in 2016.
After two defenses, Tanaka vacated, moved up to flyweight and edged Sho Kimura by majority decision in a memorable battle to win the WBO title in 2018. He tied Vasiliy Lomachenko for the fewest fights needed (12) to win a world title in three divisions.
After three defenses Tanaka vacated and moved to junior bantamweight, where he took his first defeat, an eighth-round knockout challenging WBO titleholder Kazuto Ioka,
Tanaka won his next four fights in a row and got a shot at the vacant WBO junior bantamweight title in February 2024. He outpointed Christian Bacasegua to become a four-division titlist in the fewest fights (21) in boxing history.
In his first defense, Tanaka lost the title by split decision to Phumelele Cafu in an upset in October in what will apparently be his final fight.
“The condition of both eyes was bad before the fight and I decided to have surgery on both eyes immediately after the fight,” Tanaka wrote in his retirement post. “Immediately after the start of the match, I lost sight in my right eye and by the third round, all the light had completely disappeared. With my left eye also in a bad state, I finished the match and underwent surgery on both eyes.
“My vision was restored, but even now my right eye's vision is still heavily distorted and I can no longer focus with both eyes. Due to the effects of hernia operations on my neck and many, many operations on my eyes alone in the four years from 2021, my eyes have become weak, and I can no longer spar, let alone compete. I decided to retire because there was no way for me to get into the ring.”
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked three fights: Keyshawn Davis-Edwin De Los Santos, which was to headline the Top Rank ESPN card on Saturday night in Norfolk, Virginia, but was canceled after the show; Fabio Wardley-Justis Huni for the vacant WBA interim heavyweight title in the main event of the Queensberry card on DAZN on Saturday in Ipswich, England; and the bantamweight title unification fight between WBC titlist Junto Nakatani and IBF titleholder Ryosuke Nishida, who headline the Teiken Promotions on ESPN+ on Sunday in Tokyo. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Thorslund pregnant, vacates
Unified bantamweight titlist Dina Thorslund has withdrawn from a three-belt unification fight against IBF titlist Shurretta Metcalf after discovering she is pregnant with her second child, Most Valuable Promotions announced.
The fight was scheduled to take place on the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano III all-female card on July 11 (Netflix) at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Thorslund has vacated the WBO belt and been re-classified as a “champion in recess” by the WBC.
Replacing Thorslund (23-0, 9 KOs), 30, of Denmark, in the bout will be WBA bantamweight titlist Cherneka Johnson (17-2, 7 KOs), 30, a New Zealand native fighting out of Australia, after her promoter, Lou DiBella, and MVP made a co-promotional deal.
Johnson, who will fight in the United States for the first time, and Metcalf (14-4-1, 2 KOs), 40, of Dallas, will meet for the undisputed 118-pound title because not only will their belts be on the line but so will the WBC and WBO titles that Thorslund vacated.
“Life can be such a roller coaster, especially as a female boxer. I was really looking forward to this fight, the biggest moment of my career,” Thorslund said. “Recently I found out I was pregnant, a curve I hadn't expected, but a joyous one. Even though the decision was easy, the athlete in me is sad, as I so wanted to stand in that ring and make history on July 11. But I’ll be back. The fire that MVP has lit in me only burns even stronger, and when I do step back in the ring, there will be another little person that I can fight for and be a role model for.”
Johnson was thrilled to get the unexpected opportunity.
“It’s a dream come true to fight at Madison Square Garden,” Johnson said. “This feels like a true pinch me moment, being part of an all-women’s card headlined by the incredible Amanda Serrano versus Katie Taylor. Not only will I be defending my title, but I’ll also become the undisputed champion.”
Metcalf too was happy to still have a fight coming up and have it for all of the belts.
“I’m about to make history as the first undisputed (women’s) bantamweight champion — and I’m doing it from Dallas, Texas,” Metcalf said. “Nothing in my career has come easy, but every fight, every sacrifice led to this moment. I was built for this.”
Quick hits
Weights from Ipswich, England, for the Queensberry card on Saturday (DAZN, 1:30 p.m. ET): Fabio Wardley 243 pounds, Justis Huni 248 (for vacant WBA interim heavyweight title); Pierce O’Leary 139.5, Liam Dillon 139.8 (for vacant European junior welterweight title); Nelson Hysa 255, Patrick Korte 239; Mike Perez 198, Steven Ward 199; Jack Williams 120.14, Fernando Joaquin Valdez 126.1; Lewis Richardson 159.15, Dmitri Protkunas 159.12; Lillie Winch 128.1, Katerina Dvorakova 1271; Umar Khan 127.15, Moises Garcia 129.13; Billy Adams 133.8, Alexander Morales 139.2; Sam Gilley 160.8, Gideon Onyenani 159.1.
Former heavyweight title challenger Dillian Whyte, already a late addition to the undercard of the Saturday’s fight between heavyweight Fabio Wardley, who Whyte manages, and Justis Huni, is now off the Queensberry show at Portman Stadium in Wardley’s hometown of Ipswich, England. Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs), 37, of England, whose opponent had never been locked in, is off because, according to Queensberry, the company is working on something significant for him.
Weights from Norfolk, Virginia, for the Top Rank card Saturday (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET): Abdullah Mason 134.5 pounds, Jeremia Nakathila 134.8; Kelvin Davis 140, Nahir Albright 139; Tiger Johnson 146.5, Janelson Bocachica 147.4; Troy Isley 159.9, Etoundi Michel William 159.7; Keon Davis 149.2, Michael Velez-Garcia 149.8; Euri Cedeno 160, Abel Mina 158.9; Deric Davis 134.2, Naheem Parker 136.4; Patrick O’Connor 199, Marcus Smith 190.6. The main event was canceled because Keyshawn Davis weighed 139.3 pounds (4.3 pounds overweight) and stripped of the WBO lightweight title. Challenger Edwin De Los Santos was 134.7.
WBA bantamweight titlist Antonio Vargas has signed a co-promotional deal Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn and Boxlab Promotions, which has been working with him. Vargas (19-1, 11 KOs), 28, a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Kissimmee, Florida, was elevated from interim titleholder to full titlist in May when titleholder Seiya Tsutsumi was stripped and re-classified as a “champion in recess” while dealing with health issues. Vargas won the vacant interim belt in December by 10th-round knockout of Winston Guerrero. “I know there is still so much work to be done, but I’m blessed to be surrounded by a team that believes in me,” Vargas said. “I am ready to defend my world title and continue to make everyone proud.”
Most Valuable Promotions announced it has signed flyweight up-and-comer Yankiel Rivera (7-0, 3 KOs), 27, a 2020 Puerto Rican Olympian, whose contract with Matchroom Boxing expired. Rivera, who holds top-10 rankings in three organizations, including No. 1 at 112 pounds by the WBA, will have his first fight of the deal this summer, MVP said. “Nobody is stopping me and I am convinced MVP is the perfect choice to take me to a world championship,” Rivera said.
The OPI card headlined by southpaw cruiserweight Fabio Turchi (24-3, 16 KOs), 31, against Latvia’s Milans Volkovs (11-3-2, 6 KOs), 25, in a 10-rounder on Sunday at Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, Italy, Turchi’s hometown, will stream on ESPN+ (1:30 p.m. ET), Top Rank announced. One of the undercard bouts on the stream will include Top Rank junior welterweight prospect “The Fresh Prince of Monaco” Hugo Micallef (10-0, 2 KOs), 27, of Monaco, against Marko Dmitrovic (14-15-1, 7 KOs), 30, of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in an eight-rounder.
Show and tell
When I began covering boxing in 2000, the mega fight everyone was dying to see was a showdown between heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, despite how shot he was. The road to making the fight was as agonizing as for any major fight in history, but it eventually did happen after much uncertainty and many twists & turns. One of the biggest reasons that it was difficult to make was because the fighters were under contract to rival networks. Lewis was a franchise fighter for HBO and Tyson for Showtime. Ultimately, it led to the first-ever joint pay-per-view between as the networks finally struck a deal once thought to be impossible, even though the fight was put in jeopardy when Tyson bit Lewis on the leg during a brawl at the kickoff news conference in New York that never really started. I was at the aborted news conference and it was surreal. It also left the fight in doubt with Nevada officials refusing to license Tyson because of his ill behavior that day. Today, when people ask me if such and such fight can happen I have one response: If they could make Lewis-Tyson, they can make anything.
I have many vivid memories of that wild fight week in Memphis, which agreed to host the fight after Nevada said no thanks because of Tyson. Memphis rolled out the red carpet for visiting media. I was there all week covering the fight for USA Today and the time I spent hanging out with comedian Dave Chappelle, who is a big boxing fan, was just one of the many highlights. He was there “covering” the fight for nightly spots on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.” That’s how big the fight was. It was as mainstream as any fight I’ve ever covered.
The fight took place a The Pyramid and was the biggest money fight in history at the time. It went just as I expected — a Lewis destruction of the massively faded Tyson, who showed heart and took his beating like a man. Lewis dominated and bloodied Tyson before knocking him out with a huge right hand in the eighth round that brought the curtain down a great heavyweight era that mostly took place in the 1990s. The fight was on June 8, 2002 — 23 years ago on Sunday. I have many items from the fight in my collection. Here is just one of them, the official site poster.
More show and tell
The late Hall of Fame two-division titleholder Arturo Gatti — my all-time favorite fighter — and Micky Ward had already waged two memorable fights. Ward won a majority decision in their first iconic junior welterweight battle that ranks as one of the most exciting and dramatic fights of all time and was the consensus 2002 fight of the year. They met again in a rematch six months later and Gatti evened the series with a competitive unanimous decision in another terrific fight even if it was not as wildly entertaining as the first one. Tied 1-1, it meant a third straight fight and they delivered yet another all-time classic battle.
Although Ward dropped Gatti in the sixth round as they slugged it out toe to toe for most of the fight, Gatti got the better of the action and defeated Ward, who had become his close friend during their trilogy and went into the bout proclaiming it would be his last fight. He indeed retired following their tremendous slugfest, which Gatti won 97-92, 96-93 and 96-93 in the 2003 consensus fight of the year. It was a privilege to cover their second and third fights at ringside, both at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The third fight took place on June 7, 2003 — 22 years ago on Saturday. Here is an extremely rare glossy cardboard site poster in my collection that was originally displayed at host casino Bally’s Atlantic City during fight week.
Even more show and tell
Miguel Cotto had won world titles at junior welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight when he moved up to middleweight in an effort to become the first Puerto Rican male boxer to win world titles in four divisions. He challenged middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and packed New York’s Madison Square Garden with 21,000 strong — I was ringside to cover it — on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade in New York, a date that had become Cotto’s.
Cotto took charge right away and scored three knockdowns in the first round against Martinez, who was compromised by a bum right knee on which he had had two surgeries. Cotto toyed with Martinez and dropped him again in the ninth round. Cotto was ahead 90-77 on all three scorecards when Pablo Sarmiento, Martinez’s trainer, stopped the HBO PPV fight with Martinez on his stool six seconds into the 10th round. Cotto improved to 8-1 at the Garden and made history by winning the middleweight championship and sending Martinez into a six-year retirement before he returned in 2020. The fight was on June 7, 2014 — 11 years ago on Saturday. Here is a poster from the fight in my collection.
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Photos: Davis-De Los Santos and Mason-Nakathila: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Tanaka: Philip Fong/AFP; Wardley-Huni: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions
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Ahhh, the theater of the unexpected. You know? Sometimes the weight just doesn’t come off like it did last time. Seems like the situation should have been dealt with earlier though. Not a good look for an up an comer like Davis. Takes a little shine off.
Interested in the Wardley-Huni mix, anybody seen Huni in the ring? Is this gonna be competitive? 🥊🥊🥊