Boxer Stripped of His World Title and Cancels Title Fight After Missing Weight

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dean Koutouratsas | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 3:29 PM ET

Keyshawn Davis' title fight against Edwin De Los Santos for the World Boxing Organization lightweight world championship has been canceled due to Davis missing weight on Friday, according to Top Rank.

The bout was scheduled for Saturday at Scope Arena in Davis’ hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, but that changed once the former champion was stripped of his belt for weighing more than 135 pounds.

The 26-year-old Davis, undefeated at 13-0, weighed in at 139.3 during Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins, well over the required weight. Following the violation, he gave a short and straightforward response.

“I’ve been making the weight for over four years now,” Davis said. “I just outgrew the weight. I tried [but] just outgrew the weight.”

Keyshawn Davis reacts after coming in 4.3lbs overweight and being stripped of his WBO lightweight world title ahead of his first defense against Edwin De Los Santos. pic.twitter.com/6ChlhT3K9f
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) June 6, 2025

The Davis and De Los Santos title fight was expected to headline the card, but because of the mishap the challenger would have been the only one eligible to win the belt. Sampson Lewkowicz, De Los Santos' promoter, said his fighter took issue with the weight miss, leading to both sides engaging in lengthy negotiations until the fight was canceled after a failure to reach an agreement.

“We renegotiated to 10 pounds, plus money, but we concluded that Davis never tried to make weight,” Lewkowicz told ESPN reporter Salvador Rodriguez. “He came dancing to the scale. We canceled the fight.”

Following the change, the lightweight bout between Abdullah Mason and Jeremia Nakathila has been moved up to the main event of Saturday’s card.

Meanwhile, Kelvin Davis, Keyshawn Davis' older brother, has been promoted to the co-main event against Nahir Albright in a junior lightweight bout, per ESPN combat sports reporter Andreas Hale.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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