Keyshawn Davis and Jose Pedraza battle it out live from Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Thursday, February 8. The bout serves as the co-feature on the card headlined by Teofimo Lopez vs Jamaine Ortiz. The contest is scheduled for 10 rounds at lightweight.
At the final pre-fight press conference, U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (9-0, 6 KOs) said that the fans would be the winners on the night. Unbeaten 24-year-old native of Norfolk, Virginia showed respect to his opponent, but expressed no doubts in his own victory.
“Pedraza said that he has all the experience. And he did fight a lot of great fighters. But he hasn’t fought me before,” Keyshawn Davis said. “I don’t care about all the experience he has because he hasn’t fought me yet. So he’s going to see everything I bring to the table.”
“He’s a great fighter. He’s been in a lot of great fights for the sport of boxing. And I believe he’s good for the sport of boxing. But I feel like he’s got the biggest challenge yet in front of him. A young, hungry, real fighter. When that bell starts, I won’t be here to play. It’s going to be an action-packed fight. I’m definitely coming out victorious, but the fans are going to be the winners that night.”
Former IBF super featherweight champion and former WBO lightweight champion Jose Pedraza (29-5-1, 14 KOs) said he expected a “great victory” against “an excellent boxer”. The 34-year-old native of Caguas, Puerto Rico also said that he wanted to make the fans leave happy.
“At this point of my career, it doesn’t matter who is my opponent,” Jose Pedraza said. “Keyshawn Davis is an excellent boxer. He doesn’t have the experience that I do in professional boxing, but he had a great trajectory in amateur boxing. He is an excellent boxer. It doesn’t matter what the record is. You have to face those challenges. It doesn’t matter if he’s a prospect, a veteran or a contender. You have to accept it. Let’s fight.”
“I prepared very well for this fight. I’ve come to do my job. I don’t look the result. But don’t misinterpret me. I do expect a great victory. But I don’t expect a particular result. I simply go to do a good job for the fans, so that they can leave happy.”
In the main event, Brooklyn’s two-division world champion Teofimo Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs) defends his WBO junior welterweight title against Jamaine Ortiz (17-1-1, 8 KOs) of Worcester, Massachusetts. The world championship bout is scheduled for 12 rounds.