Keyshawn Davis added much-needed luster to a boxing career that, despite having no defeats, has been blemished of late, dominating junior welterweight Nahir Albright on Saturday night in a main event rematch in Davis' hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.
After missing weight for the second time in his past three fights, Davis (15-0, 1 NC, 10 KOs) wasted no time in showing off his aggressiveness and footwork, establishing early on that he could hit Albright and move out of range of return fire. The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, ranked No. 3 at junior welterweight by ESPN, made Albright (17-3-1, 1 NC, 7 KOs) miss again and again. Davis was so confident that, at times, he was gesturing to friends at ringside and clowning as he stalked his opponent.
All three judges scored the fight for Davis by a wide margin, with cards of 118-108, 118-108 and 117-109.
"He a crafty fighter. He been around, you know what I'm saying?" Davis said of Albright. "I tried to go for the knockout, we all see he was hurt, I just didn't get it. But I got the decision, that's all that matters."
Davis pushed especially hard for a stoppage in the 11th and 12th rounds, landing fast combinations that got the home crowd roaring. But a visibly beaten Albright held on to Davis every time he could, surviving to the final bell.
Albright did catch Davis with a big right hand midway through Round 5, buckling his knees. But Davis took back control immediately. In Round 6, Davis had two points deducted after slamming Albright to the canvas. But again, Davis continued his dominance.
The fight was a rematch of a 2023 bout originally scored as a majority decision victory for Davis but later overturned to a no-contest after he tested positive for marijuana.
Albright bounced back from that fight with a victory in June in Norfolk over Davis' brother Kelvin. Backstage that night, Keyshawn and his other brother, Keon, were involved in a skirmish with Albright. Keyshawn Davis, the WBO lightweight champion at the time, was scheduled to headline the card against Edwin De Los Santos but missed weight. He was stripped of the title, and the fight was canceled.
After missing weight again this time, Davis indicated that he might be finished fighting at 140 pounds.
"Man, I'll probably go to 147, I ain't gonna lie," Davis said. "All this making weight stuff, it ain't for me. As y'all can see, I ain't good at making weight. I just know I can fight."
In the co-main event, welterweight Brian Norman Jr. bounced back from the first loss of his career by knocking out Josh Wagner in the second round. Norman, ranked No. 2 at 147 pounds by ESPN, did not look like the same fighter who dropped a decision to Devin Haney in November. Norman (29-1, 23 KOs) knocked down Wagner twice in Round 2, and after being floored for the second time, Wagner had an injured shoulder and couldn't continue. The TKO came at 1:24 of the round, Norman's 16th stoppage in two rounds or less.
It was truly a family event in Davis' hometown. His sisters, Shantel, Shanice and Felicia, harmonized on his walkout music, and earlier in the night, both of his brothers fought and won. Keon Davis opened the night with a lopsided unanimous decision victory over junior welterweight Edwine Humaine. Kelvin Davis scored a split decision win over Peter Dobson in a welterweight bout.
"Clap it up for the Davis brothers, all the brothers," Keyshawn Davis told the crowd. "And oh yeah, shouts out to my sisters too, who sung for me when we came out. It was another DB3 show."
