Lightweight contender and Norfolk, Virginia native Keyshawn Davis put on a show for his hometown crowd when he knocked out Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos in the second round Friday night before a sold-out crowd of 10,568 at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
Lemos (29-2, 19 KOs) had a clear weight advantage against Davis. He came in at 141 pounds, which appeared to be strategic. However, skills pay the bills; Davis was the more skilled fighter, and it showed.
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs), whose sisters sang the national anthem and two brothers fought on the card and got wins, knocked down Lemos three times in the second round; he ended the night with a left hook/right-hand combination.
Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Boxing
Referee Raul Caiz Jr. dived in to stop the fight as Lemos tumbled to the canvas.
This marked the biggest boxing event at the famed venue since local legend Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker fought in Norfolk in 1994, and like he said he was going to do before the fight, Davis put on a show!
“I had no hesitation,” Davis said after the win. “Me and my team, we stuck to our guns. We said if he comes in too much over, we ain’t gonna fight. But he followed his game plan, and he didn’t come too much over (at the weight check on Friday morning), so we had a fight, and we gave a spectacular night.”
Despite the huge weight advantage, Davis said Lemos, who was stopped for the first time in his career, really did not have much power.
I didn’t feel no power in him,” he said. “I actually sat back on the ropes one little second, and I let him throw his overhand that he loves, and I felt it on my shoulder. And I looked at my brothers and gave them that face like, no, not enough (power). It ended in the second round, so maybe he didn’t really get a chance to hit me.”
What an impressive showing by Davis. This was the best performance of his career. With the win, Davis, who called out Gervonta Davis after the fight, is in line to fight WBO 135-pound champion Denys Berinchyk next, which would give him an opportunity to capture his first world title.
Mason overcomes two knockdowns to get KO!
135-pound contender Abdullah Mason (16-0, 14 KOs) overcame his first gut check as a pro, surviving a pair of first-round knockdowns to knock out Yohan Vasquez (26-6, 21 KOs) with a left hand to the body in round two.
The 20-year-old Mason suffered a flash knockdown early in the first, then scored a knockdown of his own midway through the round.
As he went for the finish, Vasquez landed a peach of a counter left hand. Mason survived the round, came out possessed in the second, and knocked out Vasquez at 1:59 of the round.
No one likes to get knocked down, but Mason overcame adversity, which should help him down the line.
Rest of the results on the card:
In the co-feature, Keyshawn’s Olympic teammate, Troy Isley (14-0, 5 KOs), won a gritty 10-round decision over Tyler Howard (20-2, 11 KOs) to retain his NABO belt. Isley, from Alexandria, Virginia, picked up his third victory of 2024 and maintained his WBO world ranking. Scores: 99-91 2x and 98-92.
Junior Welterweight: Kelvin Davis (14-0, 7 KOs) continued the DB3 momentum, outboxing Colombian veteran Yeis Solano (15-4, 10 KOs) en route to an eight-round unanimous decision win. Davis knocked down Solano in the closing seconds of the fight to put an exclamation point on the proceedings. Scores: 80-71 and 79-72 2x.
Middleweight: Virginia native Austin Deanda (16-0, 10 KOs) overcame a spirited challenge from DeAundre Pettus (12-3, 7, KOs), edging out an eight-round unanimous decision by scores of 77-75 2x and 78-74.
Junior Middleweight: The youngest fighting member of DB3, Keon Davis (1-0), had a successful professional debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Jalen Moore (1-2, 1 KO) by scores of 40-36 3x. Davis hurt Moore with several shots in the fourth round, but the native of Dallas, Texas, survived to hear the final bell.
Junior Lightweight: Emerging prospect Robert Meriwether III (8-0, 3 KOs) picked up his fourth win of the year, turning away a tricky Eric Howard (6-3, 1 KO) over six rounds. Scores: 60-54 and 59-55 2x.
Featherweight: Former junior featherweight contender Raeese Aleem (21-1, 12 KOs) made a triumphant ring return, dominating Derlyn Hernandez (12-3-1, 10 KOs) over 10 rounds after a nearly 18-month layoff. Ring rust was no issue, as Aleem scored a knockdown in round five and prevailed by scores of 100-89 3x.
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