It’s been just over a month since former WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis caused a literal brawl at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. However, his promoter, Top Rank boss Bob Arum, has only praise for the 26-year-old, as he expressed his intentions to turn the Norfolk native into the face of boxing, a position often associated with two other boxing royalty.
WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis and Canelo Alvarez are often hailed as the face of boxing, and for good reason. Either fighter can convince a crowd to show up, regardless of who they are up against, even if the results are highly predictable. But the question is, can the 13-0 boxer, barely into his professional boxing career, fill the giant shoes?
93-year-old Bob Arum seems to be confident. “It’s rare to have a fighter that has so much personality that he can connect with the public,” he told The ESPN Originals ‘The Fight Life.’ By the way, Davis is coming off a canceled fight against Edwin De Los Santos, thanks to him missing weight by 4.3 pounds (weighing in at 139.3 pounds) during the weigh-ins.
He was stripped of his WBO lightweight title and had to miss out on a big payday, not to mention what happened after this piled on even more backlash. Regardless, Arum also explained why he believes Keyshawn Davis has what it takes to become the face of boxing. “A young man has to have it in himself. That’s how he becomes a star. I think Keyshawn has that quality. …Our plan is to make him the face of the sport,” he added.
That said, what exactly caused the brawl on June 7th involving Keyshawn Davis, which isn’t exactly behavior expected from someone hoping to become the face of boxing?
Keyshawn Davis attacked his brother’s opponent after the latter’s loss
It was supposed to be a celebratory homecoming for Keyshawn Davis and his two brothers, who fought on the undercard of the event. While Davis was booted after missing weight, his two brothers, Keon and Kelvin, took on their respective opponents. Keon found success against Nikolai Terteryan, but Kelvin hit a brick wall against Nahir Albright, a boxer Keyshawn faced before.
Source: Instagram
Although the Keyshawn vs. Albright fight was declared a no-contest because marijuana was found in Davis’ system, ‘The Businessman’ seems to have animosity left in his consciousness. Regardless, after Kelvin’s loss, Keyshawn and Kelvin were involved in a backstage altercation with Albright, which left the Philadelphia native with a swelling over his right eye.
“They started walking up to me all tough, putting his head against mine, and then grabbed me… it was crazy,” Albright told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel. He also added that Keyshawn head butted him, and is considering legal action. However, Kelvin later apologized on social media, writing, “We apologize for conducting ourselves in that way… we gone take what comes with it… WE DIDDNT JUMP NOBODY.”
Keyshawn Davis managed to damage his reputation quite a bit because of the incident, and by missing weight, his discipline towards the craft is also in question. Amid all this, Bob Arum and Top Rank seem to have taken a step in the right direction. However, do you think Davis can become the face of boxing?
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