Feb 8, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Jose Pedraza (gold/black trunks) and Keyshawn Davis (blue/gold trunks) box during their WBO Intercontinental Lightweight bout at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Keyshawn Davis Breaks Silence On Title Fight Cancellation, Teases Retirement

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Jaren Kawada | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 8:49 AM ET

Keyshawn Davis is aware that he messed up. Not just for missing weight for his main event bout with Edwin de los Santos or the chaos involving Nahir Albright, but for everything that ended his highly anticipated title reign before it could even get started.

Two months after blowing his first title defense, Davis broke his silence on what went down during one of the strangest weekends of the year. The undefeated 26-year-old hopped onto Instagram Live on Friday to clear the air on his mishaps that led to the cancellation of his hometown title fight.

"It was super wrong, and we gonna right what I did," Davis said, via Fight Hub TV. "Me [missing] weight wasn't right. I feel like I just let everyone down. Ever since that situation, I just see and hear a lot of things that got set back because of me. That's just not an easy pill to swallow. Missing weight was unprofessional. I see why y'all were saying like I didn't care... Everything about me looked like I didn't care."

Davis' fight with de los Santos got canceled the day before the event due to his egregious weight miss. The event, which was supposed to be a homecoming for the Davis family in their hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, was instead headlined by Abdullah Mason and Jeremia Nakathila.

The situation only worsened when Albright accused Davis of attacking him in his locker room after his fight on that same card. Albright pulled off an upset win over Davis' older brother, Kelvin Davis, on the prelims. Keyshawn Davis admitted that he walked into Albright's locker room, but claims "nobody" made any physical contact.

Keyshawn Davis teases retirement amid radio silence from Top Rank

After saying that he is "back" and "better," Davis called himself "damn near retired" due to how Top Rank is handling him since his fight cancellation.

"Right now, I'm in a position where, as far as my career and stuff like that, at this point, I'm damn near retired," Davis said. "I don't hear nothing from nothing. I ain't hearing nothing. Keyshawn is good; I got a great support system. But boxing right now? I don't know, it's kind of slow right now."

Whenever Davis returns to the ring, fans expect it to be in a title fight. His former WBO title remains vacant, though Top Rank continues to back the undefeated Mason as its potential next suitor.

The promotion appeared to be angling for a Davis-Mason rematch after the de los Santos fight, but the weight miss has thrown everything off. Davis has not fought since knocking out Denys Berinchyk in February to win the lightweight belt.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: