Keyshawn Davis made an extraordinary case for a title shot in Norfolk tonight, torching an overweight Gustavo Lemos in under two rounds.
Argentina’s Lemos (29-1, 19 KO) got robbed of a win over Richardson Hitchins earlier this year and entered the ring at a staggering 155 pounds after missing the lightweight limit by 6.4 pounds at yesterday’s weigh-ins. He looked to exploit that weight advantage with another pressure-heavy gameplan, pursuing Davis (12-0, 8 KO) and looking to punish the body as Davis played matador.
Early in the second round, Davis landed a perfect counter cross that put Lemos on the canvas. “El Electrico” attempted to laugh it off, only to go down again from a 3-2 seconds later. He popped to his feet, fell back on his butt, somehow beat the count, then got absolutely creamed by a combination, culminating in a cartoonishly violent uppercut that sent the ref into action.
Davis is now in line for a shot at WBC champion Denys Berinchyk, who upset Emanuel Navarrete in a vacant title fight this past May. Hard to say he hasn’t earned it.
Isley cruises past Howard in stinker
Former Olympian Troy Isley turned in what could charitably be called a “workmanlike” effort in the co-main event, outclassing Tyler Howard over ten largely dull rounds.
Isley (14-0, 5 KO) was just flat-out better than Howard (20-2, 11 KO), landing a steady stream of jabs while avoiding a lethargic Howard’s sporadic return fire. At trainer BoMac’s command, Isley rarely put forth any kind of sustained aggression, though he did land a number of clean counters when Howard tried to force his way in.
Things only really picked up in the tenth, when Howard finally decided to throw the kitchen sink at him. Movement, counters, and judicious use of holding kept Isley safe from anything game-changing and carried him to the scorecards with an insurmountable lead.
There’s a strong argument to be made that Isley’s stock went down in victory. This was his highest-profile bout to date and he did absolutely nothing to capitalize. Even when he did sit down on power punches, his best shots bounced off of Howard to no visual effect. He’s got the technique and the speed, but the juice just isn’t there. I’m anticipating a Terrell Gausha-esque ceiling.
Fittingly, Top Rank’s Twitter posted a grand total of one (1) “highlight.”
Mason survives two knockdowns, wins wild shootout against Yohan Vasquez
Abdullah Mason, arguably Top Rank’s most prized prospect, picked up his fifth knockout of 2024 in a brief-but-violent slugfest against Yohan Vasquez.
Vasquez (26-6, 21 KO) had dropped three of his previous four to undefeated opponents, but drew first blood with a sweeping left hook as Mason (16-0, 14 KO) looked for a long rear uppercut. Mason’s knee and glove hit the canvas, and though he beat the count, Vasquez immediately hurt him again with an overhand right off that same uppercut, only for Mason to damn near knock him out of his shoes with a counter left uppercut.
Mason charged in for the kill, but his reliance on the rear uppercut earned him a check hook to the face for a second knockdown.
To his credit, Mason fought out the rest of the round behind his jab and swiftly found his groove in the second round, ultimately crumpling Vasquez with an uppercut to the body and one more to the head for good measure.
Mason’s speed, power, and killer instinct are beyond reproach, but he really needs to stop leaning so much on arguably the least-safe lead in boxing. You’d think Anthony Joshua’s epic faceplant would have been a sufficiently cautionary tale.
Other Results
- Kelvin Davis UD-12 Yeis Gabriel Solano (80-71, 79-72 x2)