Terence Crawford was backing his friend, Keyshawn Davis, after he came in a whopping 4.3 pounds overweight at 139.3 lbs for his title defense of his WBO lightweight strap against #14-ranked contender Edwin De Los Santos today, Saturday, June 7th, in Norfolk, Virginia.
Intentional Weight Miss?
The former four-division world champion Crawford was nonchalant about Keyshawn (13-0, 9 KOs) missing by such a wide margin, saying, “It happens.” However, fans view this as a sneaky strategy by Davis to gain an edge and avoid a potentially career-altering loss against the big-punching southpaw De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs).
They note that Keyshawn didn’t show any signs of being drained or fatigued, which is a telltale signal that he intentionally missed weight to game the system. People see Davis as a “weight bully,” noting that he appeared to weigh well over 160 lbs in his last fight against WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk on February 14th.”
Rehydration Limit Proposed
Some fans believe that there needs to be a rehydration limit of six pounds for tomorrow morning to prevent Keyshawn from blowing up 15 to 20 lbs, and looking like a full-blown middleweight when he steps inside the ring. A rehydration limit would make the fight somewhat fair.
DAZN Official Weights
– Keyshawn Davis: 139.3 vs. Edwin De Los Santos: 134.7
– Abdullah Mason: 134.5 vs. Jeremia Nakathila: 134.8
– Kelvin Davis: 140 vs. Nahir Albright: 139
– Delante “Tiger” Johnson: 147.2 vs. Janelson Bocachica: 147.6
– Troy Isley: 159.9 vs. Etoundi Michel William: 159.2
– Keon Davis: 146.5 vs. Michael Velez-Garcia: 145.4
– Euri Cedeno: 158.4 vs. Abel Mina: 158.9
– Deric Davis: 137.6 vs. Naheem Parker: 138.8
– Patrick O’Connor: 198.8 vs. Marcus Smith: 199.1
Crawford Defends Davis’s Miss
“He says he outgrew the weight. Nobody knows his body. It’s time to move up,” said Terence Crawford to Fighthype, reacting to Keyshawn Davis missing weight on Friday. “There are a lot of times people don’t make weight. It happens.”
You’ve got to wonder how Crawford would feel if his opponent missed weight by 4.5 lbs for their fight. Would he be shrugging his shoulders, acting like it was just one of those things, or would he be screaming bloody murder? I could see Crawford complaining nonstop, pushing for his pay to be increased or for the rehydration limit to be set on the day of the fight.
“He probably grew out of it. I’m not sure how it’s going to go as far as the best becoming vacant, but I’m going to be keeping up on it either way,” said Abdullah Mason to Fighthype about Keyshawn’s failure to make weight. “I’m still looking at grabbing that belt.”
Fresh Look at Weigh-In
For Keyshawn to look as physically rested and non-drained, it’s a red flag to fans on social media that this was intentional on his part. He didn’t even try to make weight, because he said it was his last fight at 135 anyway. So, if it’s his last fight, why on Earth would Keyshawn be bothered about making weight? Think about it.
What is there to gain with making weight when you know it’s your last fight in the division, and you must win? If you’re a weight bully, who should be fighting at 147 or 154, why would you want to kill yourself to make weight for a division you’re leaving?
“First things first, I’m taking care of Nakathilia tomorrow. One way or another, I’m going for that belt. Possibly. If he’s moving up to 140, we’ll meet up at 140,” said Mason about him and Keyshawn eventually fighting at light welterweight.”
All Mason needs to do is win tomorrow night against Nakathila, and he’ll be fighting for the vacant WBO lightweight title next against #1 Sam Noakes. However, as drained as Abdullah looked, he’s not saying at lightweight for long. He looks like he’ll be forced to move up to 140 in a couple of fights.
“Boxing will determine who I fight when I get up there. So, I guess this is boxing, him growing out of that weight class, and him fighting at 140,” said Mason. “So, maybe I meet him at 140. This is boxing. This is what happens. I’m still looking to grab that title, however it comes.”
I wouldn’t be so certain about meeting Keyshawn at 140 if I were Mason, because that may not happen. As big as Davis has looked in the last two fights, he’s going to be drained just making 140, because that’s enough cushion. He needs to be at 147 at the very least, and preferably 154. He’ll obviously resist fighting at junior middleweight and try any trick in the book to keep his weight down to avoid that shark-filled division. That’s where he should be if he weren’t being a weight bully.
“I know my skillset. I know what I can do once I step in that ring. When that bell rings, it’s different. When I get in front of an opponent, and I feel like he’s got something, that’s when my IQ goes up. My skill set goes up, too. I feel like any opponent they put in there with me, I’ll be able to hold my own and go crazy and turn it up a notch,” said Abdullah.
Last Updated on 06/06/2025
