Keyshawn Davis (11-0, 7 KOs) successfully made weight at 134.2 lbs, but his opponent, Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs), came in a whopping 6.4 lbs over the lightweight limit at 141.4 lb at Thursday’s weigh-in for their scheduled ten-round headliner this Friday, November 8th at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. The seating capacity of the Scope Arena is 10,253. According to Keyshawn, “10,000 fans” will be in the arena on Friday.
The event will be streamed live on ESPN+ at 6:20 p.m. ET.
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Lemos didn’t have much to say when asked why he missed weight by such a huge amount. Of course, Top Rank was asking for trouble when they chose him because he naturally fights at light welterweight and would have had to drain down to make 135.
Fans on social media overwhelmingly believe that Lemos intentionally came in overweight to gain an advantage over Keyshawn. They believe that if Lemos had drained himself down to 135, he’d have been weakened, and it could have resulted in him having very little chance of winning. If Keyshawn loses the fight, sympathetic fans will blame his defeat on Lemos coming in overweight by 6.4 lbs and will be less harsh toward him.
That would have given Keyshawn an advantage. Lemos campaigns at light welterweight, and it always going to be a hit or miss situation asking him to come down to lightweight to be the opponent for Keyshawn on November 8th for his homecoming in Norfolk.
Some fans believe Lemos was selected because he fights at 140 and will be weakened, coming down five lbs to face Keyshawn. Moving forward, Top Rank needs to select opponents for Keyshawn from the 135-lb division rather than choosing light welterweights and expecting them to weaken themselves by stripping off muscle and water weight to fight at 135 against David.
Doesn’t get closer than this 😳#KeyshawnLemos | FRI 10PM ET | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/UoDo4urCnQ
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) November 7, 2024
During the face-off, the 25-year-old Norfolk, Virginia native Keyshawn could right up to Lemos’ face and put his fist on his chin, resulting in the Argentinian backing away with a smile. Keyshawn was told not to touch Lemos during the face-off, but he did it anyway.
Lemos’ recent opponents:
- Richardson Hitchins: April 6th, 2024. Lemos lost a controversial 12-round unanimous decision to Hitchins in Las Vegas. The scores were 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113.
- Javier Jose Claveri: TKO 1 victory for Lemos on December 15th, 2023.
- Lee Selby: TKO 5 on March 26th, 2022.
Weigh-in Results for Friday
Keyshawn Davis 134.2 vs. Gustavo Lemos 141.4
Troy Isley 158.9 vs. Tyler Howard 159.8
Abdullah Mason 135.7 vs. Yohan Vasquez 134.2
Kelvin Davis 142.5 vs. Yeis Solano 142.7
Austin Deanda 158.3 vs. DeAundre Pettus 159.9
Keon Davis 148.7 vs. Jalen Moore 150.4 lbs
Robert Meriwether III 131.7 vs. Eric Howard 131.4
Raeese Aleem 126.9 vs. Derlyn Hernandez 126.9
“I’m happy. I’m getting paid more money. The show must go on,” said Keyshawn to Top Rank Boxing when asked for his thoughts on his opponent, Lemos, coming in 6.4 lbs over the 135-lb weight limit. “Tomorrow night, the arena is going to be packed with 10,000 fans. It’s going to be a show. It’s going to be a movie. So make sure you get here.”
“We’re a step away. The prospect of the year, that’s the way I see it, and this will be my last eight-rounder,” said Abdullah Mason. “We’re moving on to ten rounds, and we’ll be ready for anybody. Every performance that I’ve had, I’ve been doing better and better.
“I’ve been making every opponent, no matter which level, look the same, and this is a tough guy [Yohan Vasquez] ahead of me tomorrow. My goal is to make him look like the rest. Do what I always do. I’ve got an appetite for smoke, and we’re coming.
“It’s been a journey. We’re taking it one step at a time, and it’s work,” said Mason.
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