Keyshawn Davis and Edwin De Los Santos were due to face off in an anticipated WBO lightweight title bout on Saturday.
In front of a hometown crowd at Scope Arena and with family members on the undercard, this had the makings of a special occasion for Davis, who beat Denys Berinchyk in Madison Square Garden in February and was building towards some of the biggest fights in the division.
However, a certifiable shambles at the weight-in means the fight was called off after negotiations between the two camps came to nothing. It means we’ll see a new main event in Norfolk, Virginia.
Here’s why the bout was cancelled.
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Why was Keyshawn Davis vs. Edwin De Los Santos fight cancelled?
The fight was called off after Davis missed weight by a wide margin.
The American tipped the scales at 139.3 pounds, putting him a shocking 4.3 pounds over the lightweight limit. He was stripped of his title as a result.
Davis responded by saying: “I’ve been making this weight for over four years now. I just outgrew the weight. I tried… I just outgrew the weight.” It was this apparent nonchalance that ultimately led to the fight being called off completely.
De Los Santos’ promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, said to ESPN: “We renegotiated at 10 pounds over, offered more money, but came to the conclusion that Davis never tried to make weight. He showed up dancing on the scale. We didn’t want a repeat of [Devin] Haney vs. Ryan Garcia. We cancelled the fight.”
New main event chosen for Keyshawn Davis vs. Edwin De Los Santos fight night
Abdullah Mason vs. Jeremia Nakathila, which was already the co-feature in Virginia, is now the headline bout for the evening. The lightweight contest will see Mason (18-0) attempt to stretch his winning streak to four fights when he takes on former WBO super featherweight contender Nakathila.
You can see the full fight card below.
MORE: Revised undercard for fight night in Virginia
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