Usually, words over social media don’t amount to anything. You know how it goes, a pair of fighters argue aggressively online before promising to take each other's heads off in the ring. Ultimately, nothing becomes of it.
Edwin De Los Santos and Keyshawn Davis didn’t appear to have any bad blood but both expressed a desire to fight one another. On paper, a matchup between them could be explosive but their promotional ties remain an obstacle. Davis, of course, is under the promotional thumb of Top Rank while De Los Santos is associated with Premier Boxing Champions.
Still, those fine details can be worked out behind the scenes. When Bob Arum was recently pressed about making a matchup between them, he didn’t exactly confirm anything. However, he acknowledged that De Los Santos might be the frontrunner.
“Yeah, I think so,” revealed Arum to Sean Zittel when asked if Davis vs. De Los Santos was possibly in play. “I was talking to Keyshawn in the office and he mentioned that kid's name.”
It’s been a while since De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) was last seen. Roughly a year and a half to be more precise. Back in November of 2023, the Dominican native pushed Shakur Stevenson to the limit. Although he came up short, his stock rose. But instead of taking advantage of his newfound popularity, an unexpected blood clot pushed him to the sidelines. He’s seemingly recovered from his issues and is aiming to return.
As for Davis, he walks around with a bit more swag nowadays. Roughly two months ago, the former Olympic silver medalist made it look incredibly easy against Denys Berinchyk, violently stopping in the fourth round and stripping him of his WBO lightweight strap.
If his first title defense does come against De Los Santos, things could get tricky. Stevenson is usually a master in the ring, winning practically all of his fights via lopsided decision. Against De Los Santos, nevertheless, he had a difficult time.
Arum, unsurprisingly, has always loved Stevenson’s talent but watching him struggle against De Los Santos doesn’t give him any sort of trepidation. Stevenson is certainly great in his own right but Davis, from Arum’s point of view, might be even more special.
“Keyshawn is a different fighter from Shakur," continued Arum. "I mean, Shakur is a great fighter but Keyshawn is a bigger puncher and he has much more aggression and offense than Shakur has. Shakur is a defensive mastermind. That’s one of the reasons why he had trouble. Keyshawn is a different level of fighter.”