Commentator Tim Bradley says Gustavo Lemos missing weight by 6.4 lbs will enable him to “punch harder” and will give him an “unfair” advantage over lightweight Keyshawn Davis in their main event fight tonight at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
Bradley states that if it were up to him, he’d stack the contract with weight stipulations that Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs) would need to meet; otherwise, the fight would be canceled. One of the weight stipulations would be for the Argentinian Lemos, 28, not to weigh a certain amount when he enters the ring tonight.
According to Chris Mannix on X, Lemos already dealt with the 146-lb rehydration limit, coming in at 144.6. If Lemos had to limit his fluid intake further, it would be going a bit far to help out the A-side, hometown fighter Keyshawn (11-0, 7 KOs), who hand-picked him as his opponent from the 140-lb division.
Keyshawn could have chosen a 135-lb contender as his opponent, but instead, he wanted a fighter from the 140-lb division. Why is that? It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? It’s a strategic move on Keyshawn’s part to drain a fighter to pick up a win that otherwise might have been unattainable if he moved up and fought Lemos in his weight class at light welterweight.
It would be the same thing if a popular fighter from the 130 or 126-lb division chose Keyshawn to fight in their weight class, and then took advantage of him being weight-drained.
It’s a sneaky move that A-side fighters are known for making to make themselves look good in the eyes of fans. It’s a cherry-picking strategy, but most fans don’t understand how difficult it is for fighters to make weight. It’s surprising that Bradley either doesn’t see it or doesn’t want to admit what Keyshawn is doing.
ESPN commentator Bradley’s concern for Keyshawn, a top-rank guy, can be seen as his being a team player rather than giving his unbiased opinion. Bradley has got to know what the true strategy is behind Keyshawn selecting a fighter from the 140-lb division to face rather than choosing a 135-pounder, like Andy Cruz, for example.
“I think Lemos is going to be strong for the fact that he didn’t take as much out of his body as he should have for the fight,” said Tim Bradley to Fighthype, reacting to Gustavo Lemos coming in 6.4 lbs over the 135-lb limit during Thursday’s weigh-in for his fight against Keyshawn Davis tonight.
“I think he’s going to be extremely strong for the fight, and it’s definitely going to help him punch a lot harder.
“It’s whatever Top Rank wants to do if you want my honest opinion,” said Keyshawn Davis to Cigar Talk, reacting to being told by an interviewer that he wants to see him fight Raymond Muratalla. “Keyshawn coming in at 135, he took a lot from himself to make that weight.”
If Top Rank is the one who picks Keyshawn’s opponents, all this calling out he’s been doing with Gervonta Davis could be just a bunch of nonsense because he’s not calling his own shots. It’s Top Rank that is selecting his opponents, except for his selection of Lemos. That was a hand-pick job on his part.
“I just worry. Having all that weight behind him [Lemos] to land again, a big shot over the top that Keyshawn doesn’t see, and it lands and hurts him, knocks him out, or puts him out. It’s a dangerous fight. It’s an unfair advantage, it really is,” said Bradley.
It sounds like Bradley is carrying water for Keyshawn. Lemos is NOT bigger than Keyshawn, and is almost guaranteed to be lighter than him tonight. If Lemos punches harder, it’s not because of his weight but rather because he is naturally stronger than Keyshawn.
The 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn is not a big puncher and never has been. He’s a blend of Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney. He’s between those two in terms of his fighting style. People watch him because he talks a lot, but he’s not stronger or more talented than other lightweight fighters like Raymond Muratalla.
“Do you not do the show? If I was his manager, I would think twice about it. I would say, ‘I don’t think so.’ I would put a lot of stipulations in there, and I would make this man [Lemos] meet them. First of all, you didn’t come in on weight. You came in overweight six pounds. During the fight, ‘You can’t weigh this.’ I would put so many fight stipulations in there, and if he didn’t meet them, I would cancel the fight,” said Bradley.
Keyshawn isn’t about to cancel the fight with Lemos for several reasons:
- 10,000 fans have already bought tickets for tonight
- Keyshawn is likely to be heavier than Lemos anyway. Davis is a massive lightweight who arguably should be campaigning at welterweight. Much, if not all, of his success at lightweight is based on his size advantage over his opponents. Tonight, it won’t be as pronounced. It’ll still be there.
- Lemos was hand-picked by Keyshawn. This is his baby. He wanted Lemos and knew what he was getting himself into by choosing a light welterweight from the 140-pound division. Again, Keyshawn could have picked a lightweight but wanted a light welterweight, and you know why. It’s so obvious that even a blind man could see it.
