Davis eventually made weight Friday for his 12-round rematch with Nahir Albright, but he needed almost an additional hour before he met the contracted limit of 140 pounds. The undefeated Davis initially weighed 140.2 pounds, stripped naked to get down to 140.1 and came back exactly at 140 for their main event Saturday night at Scope Arena in his hometown in Virginia.

Albright officially weighed 139.7 pounds on his first attempt.

Meeting that obligation wasn’t an insignificant achievement for Davis, a gifted fighter whose self-destructive behavior knocked his promising career off track 11 months ago in Norfolk.

The last time the 27-year-old Davis stepped on the Virginia Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts and Professional Wrestling Commission’s scale, he was 4.3 pounds overweight June 6 for what was scheduled as his first defense of the WBO lightweight title against Edwin De Los Santos. The Dominican southpaw made weight, but their 12-round fight, a main event ESPN was set to televise June 7, was canceled at the 11th hour because Sampson Lewkowicz, De Los Santos’ promoter at that time, wouldn’t allow him to compete because he believed Davis’ weight advantage was unsafe for his fighter.

Davis’ disastrous weekend worsened the next night after Albright beat his older brother, Kelvin Davis, by majority decision. Keyshawn Davis and his younger brother, junior welterweight prospect Keon Davis, confronted Albright and initiated an altercation in his locker room in the bowels of Scope Arena.

Albright (17-2, 7 KOs, 1 NC) considered taking legal action against Keyshawn Davis (14-0, 10 KOs, 1 NC), who was later escorted out of the venue by police. The Sicklerville, New Jersey native instead pursued a rematch, which eventually became available after Davis stopped Jamaine Ortiz (20-3-1, 10 KOs) in the 12th round of their bout on “The Ring 6” undercard January 31 at Madison Square Garden.

Keyshawn Davis defeated Albright by majority decision in October 2023. The result of their 10-round bout was changed to a no-contest because Davis tested positive for marijuana, a substance banned by the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation.

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Nahir Albright: “I’ve improved a lot. I got stronger, faster, my IQ improved – everything. You know what I’m saying? And it’s gonna show Saturday night. … Imma get my hand raised Saturday night, and the whole world gonna see it.”

Keyshawn Davis: “I’m happy, man. I got another opportunity to perform under these bright lights. The last three opponents, I stopped them. Nobody stopped these opponents that I fought, and [Albright is] gonna be another opponent that I stop.”

DraftKings listed Davis as a 16-1 favorite (-1600) to beat Albright (+800) on Friday. The odds on Davis winning by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification are -125. The odds on Albright winning by those same outcomes are +1800. The odds on their rematch resulting in a draw are +1800.

Brian Norman Jr. will fight in the co-feature for the first time since he lost the WBO welterweight title to Devin Haney by unanimous decision November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Veteran trainer Ronnie Shields will work Norman’s corner for the first time since he replaced Norman’s father, Brian Sr., as his chief second following Norman’s first professional loss to Haney. Norman (28-1, 22 KOs, 1 NC), of Conyers, Georgia, is a 20-1 favorite to defeat confident Canadian Josh Wagner (19-2, 10 KOs) in their 10-round bout.

DAZN will stream the entire card worldwide. Preliminary undercard coverage is set to start at 6:30 p.m. ET (11:30 p.m. BST in the UK). The main portion of the undercard will begin at 8 p.m. ET (1 a.m. Sunday BST).

The Idec Index: Can Keyshawn Davis Atone For Hometown Meltdown?

Keyshawn Davis ready to settle grudge match with Albright