NEW YORK – Shakur Stevenson considers Edwin De Los Santos the most formidable opponent of his eight-year professional career.

The unbeaten WBC lightweight champion respects De Los Santos’ speed, power and overall talent. Stevenson has seen something special in Keyshawn Davis, however, since the first time they sparred when Davis was 13 years old.

Davis has all the physical attributes to defeat De Los Santos on Saturday night. It is the Norfolk native’s intelligence in the ring, from Stevenson’ perspective, that will ultimately separate Davis from De Los Santos in their 12-round fight for Davis’ WBO lightweight title at Scope Arena in Norfolk.

“I expect him to win because of his IQ,” Stevenson told The Ring. “Edwin De Los Santos is fast and strong. He got the talent and everything, but the problem is the IQ. The fact you in there with a one-handed fighter and you don’t even realize it is insane. You don’t know that a guy is only throwing one hand that night. So, truthfully, I think that’s the reason Keyshawn beats him. I think that Keyshawn’s IQ is ahead of him.”

Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) defeated De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) by unanimous decision in their 12-round, 135-pound title fight in November 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Stevenson entered the ring that night with lingering pain in his left hand, but he won their fight for the then-vacant WBC lightweight belt by scores of 116-112 (Tim Cheatham), 116-112 (Steve Weisfeld) and 115-113 (David Sutherland).

Fans and pundits criticized Stevenson and De Los Santos for a lack of overall action.

The 24-year-old De Los Santos, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, hasn’t fought since Stevenson beat him. Stevenson expects that inactivity to hurt the powerful southpaw when he encounters Davis (13-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC), who has won four fights since De Los Santos last set foot in the ring.

Stevenson suggested De Los Santos’ rust could even lead to the first knockout defeat of his career in a fight most oddsmakers favor Davis to win by a 10-1 margin. He has thus far lost only the abovementioned unanimous decision to Stevenson and an eight-round split decision to William Foster, who was undefeated when he edged De Los Santos in January 2022 at Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida.

“The thing is with that, I think he can [knock him out] because he ain’t been fighting since our fight,” Stevenson said. “So, he’s rusty. He ain’t gonna be sharp as soon he get in the ring, so if I’m Keyshawn, I would go try and test his chin out. Because you don’t know. He ain’t been in the ring. He ain’t been takin’ punches. From what I’m seeing, I don’t think he gonna be able to take Keyshawn’s [power].”

Davis dismantled Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KOs) and won the WBO lightweight belt by fourth-round knockout February 14 at Madison Square Garden’s Theater in New York. The 2021 Olympic silver medalist has won three of his four bouts by knockout since his 10-round, majority-decision victory over Nahir Albright in October 2023 was changed to a no-contest because Davis tested positive for marijuana, a substance banned by the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation.

ESPN will televise Davis-De Los Santos as the main event of a doubleheader set to start at 10 p.m. ET (3 a.m. BST). Abdullah Mason (18-0, 16 KOs), a left-handed lightweight contender from Cleveland, and Namibian veteran Jeremia Nakathila (26-4, 21 KOs) will square off in a 10-round co-feature once the broadcast begins.