Pre- or post-match scuffles are normal in boxing. So much in fact that Keyshawn Davis and brother Keon Davis, who were involved in an altercation with Nahir Albright on Saturday, June 7, seems to rein most of the conversation rather than Keyshawn’s loss of his WBO lightweight title as he came in overweight for his cancelled fight against Edwin De Los Santos. The two were set to headline a Top Rank-promoted show.
American fighters Keyshawn and Keon Davis were undoubtedly wrong this past Saturday when they confronted Nahir Albright, who himself didn’t help explain the situation as he first claimed to have been “jumped” as in assaulted, only for it to be clarified that he had been confronted by the brothers before they all were pulled apart before an actual fight could ensue.
In the wake of this altercation, the fact Keyshawn Davis’ title defense bout against Edwin De Los Santos was cancelled and he lost his WBO lightweight (135 lbs) seemed to become background noise due to this incident.
Scuffles in boxing are the norm in the sport. Just last month, Teofimo Lopez was in an altercation with Arnold Barboza Jr. during their pre-match press conference. Not too long before that, American heavyweight (200+ lbs) Jarrell Miller found himself in a similar confrontation with British fighter Fabio Wardley.
And of course there’s the now-infamous incident where Chris Eubank Jr. slapped an egg in Conor Benn’s face.
The only difference between these three instances and the latest? The incident happened in the post-match proceedings; making it a virtual anomaly given fighters often reconciliate after fights.
In the scope of egregiousness, however, Keyshawn and Keon Davis were no less professional than the previous examples of similar incidents, making the incident rather non-consequential considering.
In at least two of these instances occurring, the fighters involved got fined, in particular Eubank for his slap and Miller for what he did against Wardley―both by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) who do not take any altercation lightly.
But when it comes to incidents on American soil involving American fighters, there are almost never any repercussions.
Keyshawn and Keon Davis both might be fined by Virginia’s boxing commission, as they rightfully should, though this would be an eyebrow raiser given similar incidents on USA soil were ignored by the involved state athletic commissions.
When Lopez and Barboza scuffled on stage, the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) did nothing; an act that Boxing Vault mentioned would only spur similar incidents if no repercussions followed.
And as it turned out, we were right.
Completely.
Virginia’s boxing/combat sports commission are certainly gearing up for at least a fine as the incident between the Davises and Nahir Albright brought too much negative attention to their state, but this would prove the other state athletic commissions to be inconsistent; especially if similar incidents keep occurring without the involved parties being held to account.
All in all, the BBBofC has set a precedent on how to handle these incidents; react accordingly to every show of unprofessional conduct.
Will the countless state athletic commission in the USA do the same?
It remains to be seen, and very likely, the answer is no.
