NORFOLK — Keyshawn Davis owed his hometown fans a fight, and the former World Boxing Organization lightweight champion from Norfolk delivered one Saturday night, scoring a unanimous 12-round decision over Nahir Albright at Scope.
Davis dominated throughout, and particularly in the 11th and 12th rounds, when he backed Albright into the ropes and unloaded on him with loud combinations and power shots that appeared close to putting the Philadelphia fighter down.
To his credit, Albright survived. But it’s Davis (15-0) whose still-young career advanced, with a win that keeps “The Businessman,” as he calls himself, on a potential championship trajectory.
“Y’all know I ain’t scared of nobody,” he said afterward. “Y’all know I ain’t ducking nobody.
“At this point, whoever is willing to fight The Businessman, let’s make it happen.”
Davis was not especially interested in fighting Albright, an opponent he beat in 2023, only to have the win declared a no-decision when he tested positive for marijuana after the bout.
Saturday’s bout was promoted as “unfinished business.” Davis rejected that framing, saying there was nothing personal about the fight for him.
Still, there was no denying that the lead-up to the bout made for a tangled narrative.
For starters, there was the matter of Davis’s scheduled fight at Scope last June, which was supposed to be his first defense of the WBO title.
The day before the fight, Davis weighed in at more than four pounds over the 135-pound limit. The bout was canceled, and Davis was stripped of his title.
On fight night, Davis looked on as his older brother, Kelvin, lost a 10-round decision to Albright. Davis and his other brother, Keon, got into an altercation with Albright after the bout. Albright claimed the brothers “jumped” him in the locker room.
Hit with a storm of criticism and bad publicity, Davis took time off to get himself together. He returned to the ring in February, fighting at 140 pounds, and stopped Jamaine Ortiz in the 12th round at Madison Square Garden.
Back at Scope, Davis promised to be “new and improved” for Saturday’s bout.
True to his word, Davis looked sharp from the outset, stalking and measuring Albright in the early rounds.
Albright (17-3-1) landed his best punch of the night, an overhand right, in the fifth. Davis took it, and turned up the heat in the sixth round, landing heavy combinations and muscling Albright around the ring.
The seventh round brought the strangest maneuver of the fight. Frustrated by Albright’s incessant holding and grabbing, Davis picked him up and slammed him to the canvas.
“I didn’t think twice about doing it,” Davis said. “I’m going to be real with you. He was on my neck.”
Keyshawn Davis points to the crowd after his a welterweight boxing match against Nahir Albright at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va., on May 16, 2026. (Peter Casey / The Virginian-Pilot)
The referee deducted two points from Davis for the foul, but it didn’t matter, as Davis pummeled Albright in the final rounds. Two judges scored the bout 118-108, and the third scored it 117-109.
“I knew he couldn’t do nothing with me, at all,” Davis said. “I showed it.
“I wanted to fight a better opponent. He’s actually a decent fighter. He’s just not on that top level.”
Kelvin, Keon also win
Kelvin and Keon Davis also won, making it a clean sweep for the brothers, who bill themselves as “DB3.”
Fighting six rounds for the first time, super-welterweight Keon Davis (6-0) thoroughly outclassed the more experienced Edwine Humaine Jr., winning a unanimous decision. Fighting for the first time since losing to Albright 11 months ago, welterweight Kelvin Davis (16-1) won a split decision over Peter Dobson.
“It was a spectacular night” for all three brothers, Kelvin Davis said. “Full turnaround from last time,”
It would have been even better if he could have fought a rematch with Albright, Kelvin said. But he was happy his brother closed that chapter.
“As far as Albright, I’m done hearing about this, for real, for real,” he said. “Keyshawn did what he had to do.”
Keyshawn Davis mentioned WBO welterweight champ Devin Haney and super-lightweight Oscar Duarte as preferred future opponents. He’s also expecting big things out of his brothers, after their successful return to Norfolk Saturday.
The boxing world had better “wake up,” he said.
“DB3, we’re here,” he said. “And we’re here to stay and we’re here to take over.“
Kelvin Davis lands punch on Peter Dobson during a welterweight victory Saturday night at Scope. PETER CASEY/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT