Notebook: Davis-De Los Santos is on; Mason set for co-feature
Dalton Smith risks 140 mandatory status; Warrington on undercard looking to give it another go; Kovalev's farewell to stream for free; Quick hits; Show and tell
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WBO lightweight titleholder Keyshawn Davis will make his first defense against Edwin De Los Santos on June 7 at the Scope Arena in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, Top Rank announced on Thursday, making Davis’ expected hometown bout official.
A news conference is scheduled at the arena on Friday to kick off the promotion of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN doubleheader (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET).
Top Rank also announced the co-feature: lightweight up-and-comer Abdullah Mason against battle-tested veteran Jeremia Nakathila.
“Keyshawn Davis is a generational talent, someone who is a tremendous representative for Norfolk and the Seven Cities,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “Keyshawn is always asking for the most dangerous opposition, and Edwin De Los Santos qualifies as such. He’s a worthy contender intent on silencing another passionate, sold-out crowd at the historic Scope Arena.”
Davis (13-0, 9 KOs), 26, a 2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist and the 2022 prospect of the year, had the first hometown fight of his career in November, when he sold out the Scope and demolished contender Gustavo Lemos in the second round of a scintillating performance knowing a victory would propel him into a world title shot,
Davis got it on Feb. 14 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, where he blew away undefeated Denys Berinchyk in the fourth round of a dominating performance to win the 135-pound title.
Now he is set for his second hometown fight with his brothers also on the card again. Junior welterweight Kelvin Davis (15-0, 8 KOs) will be in a 10-rounder and welterweight Keon Davis (2-0, 1 KO) in a six-rounder against opponents to be determined.
“My first main event at Scope Arena was like something out of a movie, and the sequel will be even better,” Davis said. “Kelvin and Keon will set the tone, and I’ll make it a 3-0 evening for DB3. Edwin has had a lot to say recently, but he will be awfully quiet after I get through with him on June 7.”
De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs), 25, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, has had two notable fights so far. In September 2022, he scored his biggest win, a third-round knockout of then-unbeaten Jose Valenzuela, who would go on to win the WBA junior welterweight title. Two fights later, De Los Santos challenged Shakur Stevenson for the vacant WBC lightweight title in November 2023 and put on a dreadful performance in a unanimous decision loss.
De Los Santos has not fought since but is determined to make up that showing.
“I want to thank Keyshawn Davis for giving me the opportunity to become the WBO champion,” De Los Santos said. “It will be a great fight, but Keyshawn has made his first big mistake as a professional by choosing to face me. I will prove how big of a mistake it is. I will come to Norfolk in perfect shape and looking for a knockout.”
Mason (18-0, 16 KOs), 21, a Cleveland southpaw, is one of boxing’s hottest prospects and will be back in action just two months after stopping Carlos Ornelas in the sixth round on April 5.
Nakathila (26-4, 21 KOs), 35, of Namibia, has won three fights in a row against lesser opponents since back-to-back second-round KO losses to undefeated prospects Raymond Muratalla and Ernesto Mercado in 2023. Nakathila also lost a shutout decision to Stevenson in an interim junior lightweight title bout in 2021.
Also on the undercard, middleweight Troy Isley (14-0, 5 KOs), 26, of Alexandria, Virginia, who was Davis’ Olympic teammate, will face a foe to be named over 10.
Hagler-Hearns anniversary
The 40th anniversary of the legendary three-round shootout between middleweight champion Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns was on Tuesday. On April 15, 1985, at the Caesars Palace outdoor stadium in Las Vegas, the Hall of Famers waged one of the greatest and most memorable action fights in boxing history with the first round the greatest opening round ever. On this special edition podcast, TJ and discussed the fight with a pair of Hall of Fame broadcasters who were ringside to call the action — Al Bernstein, who was the analyst for the closed circuit broadcast, and Barry Tompkins, who handled the blow-by-blow for the HBO delayed broadcast.
We had a blast getting their thoughts on the epic fight and they had a few great nuggets I had never heard about before even though I have obsessed over this fight and the 1980s “Four Kings” fights. The audio podcast is available on all the usual platforms, as our shows always are, but we also put this one on the Big Fight Weekend YouTube channel, so check it out the video below and subscribe to the channel.