-
Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
Keyshawn Davis’ homecoming fight vs. Gustavo Lemos will proceed Friday evening in Norfolk, Virginia — even though Lemos was 6.4 pounds overweight Thursday — after the Argentine weighed under the same-day limit Friday morning.
Lemos was 144.6 pounds at the same-day weigh-in, per promoter Top Rank, which was under the 146-pound limit. The 10-round lightweight fight — which will headline Top Rank Boxing on ESPN — was contracted at 135 pounds but later shifted to 136 to allow Lemos an extra pound Friday morning.
The Virginia athletic commission’s rules mandate a fight-day weigh-in where boxers can’t rehydrate more than 10 pounds even if the fighters don’t miss weight, which is rare. Davis weighed 134.2 pounds Thursday and was 141.2 on Friday.
Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs) will also be fined by the commission. Not only did Lemos miss the lightweight limit; he tipped the scales above the junior welterweight limit, too.
Lemos’ last fight, a disputed decision loss to Richardson Hitchins in April, was contested at 140 pounds (an IBF junior welterweight title eliminator). Lemos, 28, also missed weight in August 2023 when he was 8 pounds above the lightweight limit for a tune-up bout with Javier Jose Clavero.
That bout was postponed and rescheduled three months later at 140 pounds. With five extra pounds to work with, Lemos made weight and went on to score a first-round TKO.
Davis (11-0, 7 KOs), 25, is an Olympic silver medalist rated No. 6 by ESPN at lightweight. Friday’s bout is Davis’ first headliner, and a victory could lead to a title shot next year. More than 10,000 fans are expected in attendance Friday evening.