The trouble began in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia. On June 6, Davis missed weight by 4.3 pounds for his scheduled title fight with Edwin De Los Santos. The game was canceled the next day. His WBO lightweight title was stripped before he ever reached the ring. What was meant to be a homecoming turned into a public embarrassment, played out in front of his own crowd.
Things got worse hours later. After watching his brother, Kelvin Davis, lose to Nahir Albright, Keyshawn engaged in a locker room confrontation with the same opponent. The incident added another headline to a week that had already spiraled out of control.
Despite all that, Davis landed on a big platform. He will face Ortiz in the co-main event on January 31st at Madison Square Garden as part of the Ring 6 card. This is a high visibility slot, against a tested opponent, with no place to hide.
Ortiz also represents Davis’ first fight at junior welterweight. Yet Davis is already looking beyond the division. He made it clear that he sees himself moving to 147, chasing bigger names and bigger paydays rather than starting life at 140. That outlook only intensifies the scrutiny. If he mentally crosses the line, the performance must justify it.
Davis knows how quickly reputations can turn. At the Olympics he was clearly outclassed by Andy Cruz. Now he’s being judged again, this time as a professional with leverage to lose.
“Keyshawn has to have this one,” Andre Ward said All The Smoke. “He can’t falter. He doesn’t even have the luxury of winning and not looking good.”
Roy Jones Jr. was butter. Much of the pressure, he said, was self-inflicted.
Ortiz wants the win. Davis needs something more. And if he slips here, those plans at 147 disappear quickly.
