Tim Bradley says fans shouldn’t be surprised if the WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis ends up “looking up at the lights” in his title defense against Edwin De Los Santos on June 7th in their fight at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
De Los Santos Upset Warning
Bradley sees De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) as possessing the right amount of speed, power, and two-handed quickness to end the Top Rank-promoted Keyshawn’s short reign as the WBO 135-lb champion in his first defense.
Keyshawn has been carefully groomed by his promoters at Top Rank since he turned pro in 2021. They kept him away from predators like Andy Cruz, Gervonta Davis, and Raymond Muratalla.
They picked the right guy, Denys Berinchyk, for him to become a world champion last February. Now, they’re hoping they didn’t guess wrong by selecting inactive De Los Santos, who hasn’t fought in two years since 2023, and is coming off a loss.
“Don’t be surprised if it ends with one shot, because that’s what high chess is. High stakes, high matching, high IQ, that’s what it is,” said Tim Bradley on his YouTube channel, talking about the Keyshawn Davis vs. Edwin De Los Santos fight on June 7th.
It could end with one big shot with De Los Santos catching Keyshawn and putting him to sleep. Davis’s reckless decision-making will make it easier for De Los Santos to destroy him. The weak opposition that Top Rank has fed Keyshawn has made him believe he can walk on water, and he appears completely overconfident heading into this clash. The worst thing you can do with an already egotistical, self-absorbed fighter like Keyshawn is match him against tomato cans.
Keyshawn Davis Chin Doubts
“It can end in one or two moves, and it’s over. I’m excited to see which De Los Santos shows up. The De Los Santos from the Shakur fight, Keyshawn Davis, he could be looking up at the lights. We don’t know. That chin got to be tested, and we’re going to find out if De Los Santos lands,” said Bradley.
Tim is 100% right. Keyshawn could be blinded by those lights, staring up at them, if he’s caught by one of De Los Santos’ big shots. All it takes is one careless mistake by Davis, and that’s it. The way he’s been talking this week, bragging about himself in glorified terms, he sounds like he thinks the victory is already in the bag.
“If De Los Santos sneaks him [Keyshawn ], he could be in trouble]. De Los Santos is a sneaky fighter, a clever southpaw. His first step is epic fast. De Los Santos seems to be able to close the distance quick,” said Bradley. “I wouldn’t advise for Keyshawn to exchange with this guy because he will get caught in between absolutely. Keyshawn definitely has the longer arms [Note: De Los Santos has identical 70-inch reach with Davis].”
What we’ll probably see is Keyshawn moving and looking to catch De Los Santos with single shots. He’ll be hoping he can get him when he’s off balance or after missing a shot, like he did againt the tiny 5’5″ Gustavo Lemos. That was the guy that Keyshawn hand-picked from a list, draining him down from 140 rather than selecting lightweight contender Andy Cruz.
“He’s [Keyshawn] the bigger fighter and the more active fighter as well. I would slightly favor him in this fight,” said Tim. “I’m telling you, man, if the De Los Santos that showed up in the ring against Shakur, and he’s got an attitude, and he wants to win this fight, Keyshawn Davis could be in trouble.”
The De Los Santos that fought Shakur will have Keyshawn running around the ring, trying not to get hit. It could be really boring. I’m just wondering if Davis’ hometown crowd at the Scope Arena will boo him or remain patient, putting up with his non-engaging all night, given that he’s one of them. I’m surprised that Top Rank even picked De Los Santos as Keyshawn’s opponent, considering what happened when he got staggered by Nahir Albright. He’s been matched against non-punchers ever since.
De Los Santos Power Punching
“De Los Santos is thumping with both hands. Straight left hand, that right hook is nasty. Keyshawn likes to carry that lead hand low, especially on the inside. He likes to be in that Mayweather shield on the inside. I’m sure De Los Santos and people see the opportunities that they have,” said Tim.
If De Los Santos lands the kind of shots that he did in his fight against Jose Valenzuela, Keyshawn won’t make it past the second round. He hits too hard. We’ve already seen that the Norfolk, Virginia native Davis has a glass chin. He was in trouble against Nahir Albright, and looked like he was having a nervous breakdown against Miguel Madueno last year.
That was the one where Keyshawn threw the rulebook out the window and went pure WWE mode, picking Maduno up off the canvas, looking like he was ready to use a suplex move. The referee just stood around, watching like a spectator as Davis roughed up Madueno at all.
“Keyshawn likes to control on the inside. He’s a manipulator. He’s looking to snipe any type of action with his opposition,” said Bradley.
On the inside, Davis uses his size advantage to rough up his opponents, using wrestling tactics, hitting & holding, and throwing short punches. He looked desperate against Cuba’s Andy Cruz in the 2020 Olympics when he was getting schooled. Keyshawn resorted to using a lot of holding and wrestling tactics to neutralize Cruz’s offense. It didn’t work.
Last Updated on 05/28/2025
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