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Former WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis discusses potential successors Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes
Former World Boxing Organisation (WBO) lightweight world champion Keyshawn Davis has offered his thoughts on the fight between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes to determine his successor.
Davis raised eyebrows around the boxing world when he failed to make weight for his defence against Edwin De Los Santos back in June, ‘The Businessman’ coming in four pounds over the lightweight limit on the scales.
Now, prospects Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes will now have the opportunity to become world champion when they face each other in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, November 22, live on DAZN.
Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Davis was asked about the fight. He believes that whilst Mason has the advantage when it comes to skill, Noakes’ physical power could swing the bout in his favour.
Davis commented: “I’ve got to do more studying on Sam. I watched one fight. He’s got some tweaks in him, but I know he can hit hard. As a fighter, you just know that he can punch."
He added: “Skilfully, Abdullah is definitely better, but skills don’t always win fights. Physically, it’s Sam all the way. Skilfully, it’s Abdullah all the way. Again I got to watch more tape on Sam because I’m not going to go like ‘Sam’s going to beat him.’ At the same time, I’m not going to be like ‘Abdullah is going to beat Sam'.”
Leigh Dawney/Queensbury
Instantly stripped of his title after failing to make wait, the homecoming bout in his native Norfolk, Virginia, was cancelled after re-negotiations with De Los Santos failed.
The Olympic silver medallist had only earned his world champion status in February of this year, knocking out Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk, the previous holder of the WBO strap at 135lbs.
In the build-up to the De Los Santos fight, Davis has exchanged harsh words with Mason – implying that they would face each other next. Whilst the main event was cancelled in Norfolk, Mason went on to put on a show in Davis’ backyard with a fifth-round stoppage of Jeremia Nakathila.
Asked how he felt about his rival excelling in what should have been a hometown shown, Davis responded: “He deserved it. I always want to say that in a way, I was wrong to do that to Abdullah. Because at the end of the day, I’m 26, I’m way older than him – I remember when he was an amateur, and I was on the Olympic team."
He went on: “I know Abdullah very well. I know his father, his brothers and all that, they’re good people. Honestly, in a way, I was wrong to do that to Abdullah. I don’t think he really deserves an apology – at the end of the day it’s sport, and we all do this because of sport, but there’s a way I could have done it a little better.
“But during that week I was just on fire for my own personal reasons, and I just reacted out of my emotions during that week. I could have went about it a better way.”
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