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Mike Coppinger, ESPN
Keyshawn Davis and Jose Pedraza have agreed to a deal for a 10-round lightweight fight on Dec. 9 in Pembroke Pines, Florida, sources told ESPN.
Davis, an Olympic silver medalist, will be stepping way up in competition for his first bout against a former champion. The 135-pound bout will take place on the ESPN undercard of a featherweight title fight between WBO titleholder Robeisy Ramirez and Rafael Espinoza, sources said.
Davis, 24, is coming off the toughest fight of his career, a majority-decision victory over Nahir Albright earlier this month. The matchup with Pedraza will be the fourth fight for Davis (10-0, 6 KOs) this year as the prospect looks to become a contender with a victory over the 34-year-old gatekeeper.
Pedraza (29-5-1, 14 KOs) is winless in his last three bouts, all of which took place at 140 pounds. A draw with Richard Commey was sandwiched in between close decision losses to junior welterweight contenders Jose Ramirez and Arnold Barboza.
Pedraza, a Puerto Rico native, last competed at 135 pounds in May 2019. The slick southpaw was a titleholder at 130 and 135 pounds. Both of his title defeats came against the sport’s elite. Pedraza lost his 130-pound title via TKO to Gervonta Davis in 2017.
The following year, Pedraza dropped his 135-pound title via decision to Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Davis, one of the sport’s best prospects, competed at the Olympics in 2021. The Norfolk, Va., native is trained by Brian McIntyre, who also guides Terence Crawford.
Junior middleweight prospect Xander Zayas will also fight on the undercard, sources said.