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BOB ARUM was “stunned” by how fast more than 7,000 tickets were sold to Keyshawn Davis’ first hometown fight Friday night in Norfolk, Virginia.
The 25-year-old Davis, an Olympic silver medallist in 2021, was even somewhat surprised to learn how quickly fans committed to packing Scope Arena in downtown Norfolk, where late legend Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker fought 10 times during his heyday. The crowd for Davis’ 10-round main event against Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos will likely exceed 10,000, more than the announced attendance for Whitaker’s final fight at The Scope – 9,150 for his unanimous points victory over James “Buddy” McGirt in a WBC welterweight championship rematch that took place in October 1994.
Now that Davis has proven himself as a gate attraction, his 92-year-old promoter is more confident than ever that the talented lightweight is poised to become a lightweight champion who can captivate a broader audience than boxing’s hardcore fan base. Whitaker, the hometown hero Davis idolized as a child, held the IBF, WBA and WBC lightweight titles at times during a celebrated career in which he was considered one the sport’s most talented, accomplished performers, pound-for-pound.
“I told the kid this himself, if he continues developing the way he has, he will be the face of boxing,” Arum told Boxing News. “He reminds me a lot of ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, who was the face of boxing in his time.”
The talkative, media-savvy Davis is a polished promoter who respects what it means to follow in the enormous footsteps of a Hall-of-Famer like Whitaker, who was 55 when a car struck and killed him in July 2019 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Davis, the third-ranked 135-pound contender by the IBF, WBC and WBO, also appreciates that his older brother, junior welterweight Kelvin Davis (13-0, 7 KOs), and his younger brother, welterweight Keon Davis (pro debut), are scheduled to fight on his undercard Friday night.
“This event is bigger than us,” Davis stated during a press conference two months ago in Norfolk. “I want to reach as many people as I can with this event so that the people from this town know that you can make it from here. There are resources here. And we’re bringing resources here, like a gym that kids can go to. I want this event to reach many people. I want the Seven Cities to be on the map, so they can be like Atlanta, New York, or Chicago.”
The 10-round bout between Davis (11-0, 7 KOs, 1 NC) and Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs) will be the main event of an eight-fight show ESPN+ will stream. Davis-Lemos undercard coverage is set to start at 11:20 p.m. GMT in the UK (6:20 p.m. ET in the United States).
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