Tim Bradley is worried about Top Rank lightweight fighter Keyshawn Davis, who tonight faces a bigger Gustavo Lemos in the main event at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
(Credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank)
Lemos missed weight by 6.4 lbs, coming in at 141.4 lbs, and Bradley is one of the many upset about it. The obvious question is, WHY was a light welterweight chosen as Keyshawn’s opponent in the first place? There wouldn’t have been a problem if Top Rank had picked a lightweight instead of putting him in the 140lb division.
It’s been five years since Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs) last fought at 135 five years ago in November 2019. The Argentinian Lemos has been living at light welterweight since 2020, so it’s ridiculous that he’s been chosen to be the opponent.
If the massive, welterweight-sized Keyshawn was asked to drop down to 130 to be the B-side opponent for one of the fighters in that weight class, would he do it? He will refuse. Even if Keyshawn agreed, chances are he would come in overweight.
Lemos lived to 140, and it seemed odd that he was chosen as Keyshawn’s opponent, expecting to shrink to give the Virginia native an unfair advantage over him just so he could win. It’s obvious what this move is all about, and you can’t blame Lemos for not making weight.
It’s more about giving Keyshawn what he would have been as a weight-depleted opponent so that he can destroy him and look like 24k gold rather than the marked gold that we have seen in his recent fights against Miguel Madueno on July 6, and Nahir Albright in October. 15 of 2023.
“There is always a concern, especially six pounds. First of all, it is a lack of respect. Looking here and not making the weight. Not even caring and getting closer? Come on, man,” said Tim Bradley to Fighthype Gustavo Lemos lost weight by 6.4 lbs coming to 141.4 lbs on Thursday for his fight tonight against Keyshawn Davis in Norfolk, Virginia.
No disrespect to Lemos for losing weight. This is the end result of what happens when a fighter picks an opponent who fights out of their weight class at a higher weight. If Keyshawn and his team wanted to make sure his opponent would make the 135 lb limit, they should have picked a lightweight instead of a light welterweight, who hadn’t fought in the division in five years.
Former four-time winner of Keyshawn, Andy Cruz of Cuba, was available and would gladly take the fight for the chance to defeat him for a fifth consecutive time. Why didn’t Keyshawn and Top Rank pick Cruz? He fights at lightweight and is ranked #4 WBA.
“It’s putting Keyshawn and his team in a very tough spot because 10,000 people are coming to see him fight. It’s his first time at home. ESPN is here. The promoter spent the money to put everyone here. If you don’t take the fight, (anger) a lot of people. If you take the fight, you take the risk (of losing).
Scope Arena has a ability to sit of 10,253, and there will be massive fans watching Keyshawn lose tonight if 10,000 show up. It’s the number that Keyshawn has repeatedly said will be present.
“It’s unfair. You’re fighting a guy from another weight class. It’s not fair,” Bradley said. “This should be his (Keyshawn) moment. He picked Lemos. He said he could do the fight. Lemos hasn’t made that weight in two years (correction: FIVE years. Lemos last fought at 135 on November 23, 2019) at 135 lbs. It is beaten at 140 years, but still, it is not an excuse. You have signed on the dotted line. So you have to do that weight.”
The counter argument to Bradley’s comment that it was “unfair” that Lemos missed weight is why he was selected for this fight from the 140 lb division. What was the rationale behind that choice? Wasn’t this move by Keyshawn designed with the ultimate goal of fighting a weight stripped opponent, Lemos, to make himself look good? It looks transparent, and Lemos must have seen through the smokescreen and refused to be used as a tool to make Keyshawn look like a 24k gold bar.
“Keyshawn’s team is going to be right. This is a dangerous fight. I can understand if he was fighting with a feather punch. He’s fighting with a puncher,” Bradley said.
If Keyshawn loses to Lemos, it will only show what will happen to him once he starts fighting better opposition. Keyshawn was narrowly defeated by Nahir Albright and fought in his last fight against Miguel Madueno on July 6th. It was the fight in which Keyshawn surprised Madueno when he started taking big shots from the Mexican fighter. Those two Keyshawn shows showed that he won’t go far in the lightweight division without being protected by his promoters at Top Rank.
