Keyshawn Davis leaves his hometown wanting more, again
No one gets everything right all the time, and man, was I wrong about the Keyshawn Davis vs Nahir Albright matchup this weekend.
Davis was never really threatened in his one-sided, unanimous decision victory in his hometown of Norfolk, VA.
Davis was too quick with his combinations, too slick defensively, and too smart with his footwork for Albright to give him much of a match. I actually thought Albright would fare much better in the rematch of their 2023 clash, which ended in a majority decision for Davis, a victory later vacated after he tested positive for marijuana.
It wasn't like Davis struggled in their first fight, despite what the judges said, but I thought the fight was compelling because of the history the two had outside of the ring from 2025, when Albright was jumped by Davis backstage after he beat his brother in a match at that very same Norfolk arena last year.
I thought the bad blood outside the ring, mixed with the familiarity from their previous fight, plus the fact that both fighters are better than they were three years ago, would make for a compelling fight.
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Once again, I was wrong. Keyshawn Davis vs Nahir Albright 2 was boring as hell.
Davis started the shenanigans in the second round when he unnecessarily guillotined Albright's head in a headlock, holding on for several seconds while the referee told him to let his opponent go. From then on, the fight was a sloppy mess, with both fighters seemingly trying to figure out how many cheap shots they could get in before the inept referee could separate them.
After a while, it seemed like Albright relished the opportunity to tie up, because that was the only chance he would get at putting any real damage on Davis.
Keyshawn Davis wins the fight, but comes up short with fans
Nahir Albright could never really get his offense going. Since he relies on counters and awkward punching angles, his game relies on him being quicker to the punch than his opponent. But Keyshawn Davis' speed negated everything he tried to do.
And since he had no Plan B, the only drama during the fight turned out to be whether Keyshawn Davis would be the first fighter to knock Albright out, like he had promised to do in the run-up to the fight.
But in the ring, Davis didn't seem too concerned with actually accomplishing that goal. During many of the middle rounds, it seemed like the two were spending more time punching each other in the clinch that they did trading shots in the center of the ring.
Maybe that's the downside of a literal grudge match. Winning the fight becomes secondary to getting your licks in. One would think that, since winning and inflicting damage go hand in hand in boxing, such circumstances would lead to a great fight.
But Saturday night proved, counterintuitively, that this isn't always the case.
Keyshawn Davis was expected to get the victory he did Saturday, but his profile in the sport wasn't raised after the win. Most of the social media chatter focused on how Davis isn't ready to fight welterweight titleholder Devin Haney, whom Davis called out again after the fight.
While I didn't see anything specifically that would lead me to think Haney has some sort of advantage over Davis, a performance that lackluster is bound to draw some criticism.
Davis says he wants to fight again later this year, so he has a chance to change everyone's mind about him once again as he has in the past. But you're only as good as your last fight in this sport, so until he steps in the ring for the third time in 2026, he has to wear this performance.
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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 11:38 AM.