Keyshawn Davis’ opponent misses weight by more than 6 pounds in headlining bout

Keyshawn Davis has sold almost 10,000 tickets for his first headlining card Friday night in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, and the lightweight star is determined for the show to go on, even if it means fighting at a major disadvantage.

Davis’ opponent, Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos, was 6.4 lbs overweight for their ESPN main event clash on Friday night. Davis tipped the scales at 134.2 pounds for his lightweight (135 pounds) bout with Lemos, while the Argentine was 141.4 lbs. Not only did Lemos miss the lightweight limit, but he was over the maximum for the division above as well.

This will go down as one of the biggest misses of the year in a high-profile boxing match, but Davis, an Olympic star, was not fazed.

“Well, I was happy,” Davis said of Lemos being overweight. “I’m the one getting paid more money. So, the show must go on.”

Lemos will be subject to a heavy financial penalty for missing weight and must weigh in again Friday morning before the fight, where he will have a strict rehydration clause he must meet for the fight to go on.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time the 28-year-old has missed weight, and Thursday’s miss isn’t even the biggest of Lemos’ career. In August 2023, Lemos was the IBF No. 1 at lightweight and was scheduled to take a tune-up fight with Javier Jose Clavero, but weighed in 8 pounds over the limit.

“El Electrico” moved up to 140 pounds after that fiasco and took part in an IBF final eliminator, where he lost a close decision to Richardson Hitchins in April. Lemos then signed with Top Rank and decided to move down again to lightweight, a choice that hasn’t quite worked out as well as he’d have liked.

Davis, on the other hand, is looking to make a big statement in his first main event opportunity, where he likely takes the final step before a world title shot. The 25-year-old is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Pernell Whittaker as Norfolk’s next big boxing star.