Many may be thinking that the true successor to Pernell Whitaker was Floyd Mayweather, but we are not talking exactly about his style, but about his roots. In this sense, today it is time to talk about Keyshawn Davis, who was able to gather 10,568 spectators at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, the venue where 30 years earlier the local legend, Pernell 'Sweet Pea' Whitaker, fought against Buddy McGirt. Since 1994, Norfolk had not embraced a fighter in this way.
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs), a silver medallist at the Tokyo Games in the lightweight division, made his debut at the iconic Scope in grand style. He knocked out Argentina's Gustavo Lemos (29-2, 19 KOs), who had been three kilos over the weight limit, in the second round. 'The Businessman' Davis dropped Lemos twice in the second round and the referee wanted to stop the fight just before he fell a third time, and they both ended up on the floor. Subsequently, the local hero challenged WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis and also Denys Berinchyk.
'The Businessman', who is 25 years old, was very accurate from the start and landed 76.5% of his power punches in this short fight, while Lemos landed only 13 punches in total. "I thought it would be more of a challenge, but I knocked him out in the second round. I have big plans for 2025, Gervonta."