After a mostly slow and clinch-infested fight, budding super star Keyshawn Davis unlocked both barrels and dominated the final two frames and nearly stopped Nahir Albright to win by unanimous decision in a super lightweight fight on Saturday.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t pretty for most of the contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt amazing. He is a crafty fighter, he has been around,\u201d said Davis.<\/p>\n
Norfolk\u2019s Davis (15-0, 10 KOs) didn\u2019t get the knockout over Philadelphia\u2019s Albright (17-3-1, 7 KOs) but closed the show with a flourish in front of hometown fans at the Scopes Arena.<\/p>\n
Despite poor judging on two marquee fights, the main event was easy to score.<\/p>\n
Davis demonstrated superior speed and agility against Albright, who he had fought three years ago, but ended in a No Contest.<\/p>\n
Immediately it was obvious the defensive tactics involved holding by both fighters who willingly clinched after a punch or two. This was a tactic used by both for 10 rounds. It was not an entertaining fight.<\/p>\n
The constant holding and grappling prompted Davis to pick and throw down Albright like a pro wrestler in the seventh round. The fighter known as \u201cthe Businessman\u201d was deducted two points and could have been disqualified.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe likes to punch and hold and he was on my neck, so I flipped him over,\u201d Davis told DAZN.<\/p>\n
What was obvious was Davis ability to punch and score with clear punches whenever he desired. Though he had knocked out three successive foes, he was unable to crack the defense and clinching by Albright. But he nearly did in the final two rounds.<\/p>\n
Davis punched through the attempted clinches of Albright in the 11th and nearly stopped the Philly fighter. In the final round, Davis had that look that winners have to close the show. That Kobe Bryant-let\u2019s-finish-the-job look. He came close to forcing a stoppage, but Albright found a way out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like in 11 or 12, I felt I hurt him. but he is crafty and not easy to stop,\u201d explained Davis. \u201cHe caught me with one good shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fight went to the judges who scored it 118-108 twice and 117-109.<\/p>\n
Despite the very slow and excessive holding, the final two rounds exploded into action to close the show in entertaining fashion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to go for the knockout and didn\u2019t get it,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n
The hometown hero had trouble making the contracted weight and will decide whether to stay at super lightweight or move up to welterweight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope you enjoyed the show,\u201d said Davis.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other Bouts<\/p>\n
Former welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. (29-1, 23 KOs) needed less than two rounds to knockdown and knocked out Canada\u2019s Josh Wagner (19-3, 10 KOs). It was Norman\u2019s first fight since losing his title and first under new trainer Ronnie Shields.<\/p>\n
Norman expected a competitive battle but after one round discovered his speed and power were too much for Wagner. A 10-punch salvo dropped Wagner in the corner. He barely beat the count and was dropped by a strong right to the head. The referee began to count and asked he fighter if he wanted to continue. Apparently Wagner hurt his shoulder and the ring physician examined the Canadian. The fight was ruled over by technical knockout at 1:24 of the second round.<\/p>\n
\u201cDude is going to quit on me. We were supposed to knock the dust off,\u201d said Norman who last fought and lost the title to Devin Haney this past November. \u201cHe said he was going to come out hard. We got the job done. The MF assassin is back.\u201d<\/p>\n
A welterweight fight saw Kelvin Davis (16-1) emerge with a split decision victory in an ugly fight filled with grappling by the victor over Peter Dobson (17-4) after 10 miserable and non entertaining rounds.<\/p>\n
Boxing is supposed to be entertaining.<\/p>\n
Dobson was slow to heat up as usual but when he did around the fifth round, Davis had no answer for the thudding body punches his skinny frame was absorbing. Davis resorted to grabbing and holding for dear life for the last four rounds and the referee kept warning but not penalizing the hometown fighter.<\/p>\n
Two judges saw Davis the winner 99-91, 97-93 while one saw Dobson the winner 98-92.<\/p>\n
Who are these judges?<\/p>\n
Judges seemed to write their scorecards ahead of time in giving undefeated Yan Santana (17-0, 13 KOs) the win by ridiculous scores over Cristian Cruz (24-8-2, 12 KOs) after 10 rounds in a featherweight contest.<\/p>\n
Cruz constantly pressured Santana who had problems once he realized his power did not affect the Mexican fighter.<\/p>\n
Though the two fighters seemed evenly matched, Santana was given far too many rounds by two of three judges who scored the fight 98-92 and 97-93 for the Dominican fighter. The crowd booed the decision that could have been a draw.<\/p>\n