Editor’s note: This story was published prior to Keyshawn Davis failing to make weight for his fight against Edwin De Los Santos on Saturday.
LAS VEGAS — WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis remembers the day Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker walked into a recreational center in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, for a local boxing event. Davis, then a preteen, was there to support his older brother, Kelvin, who was competing on the card. Keyshawn, Kelvin and their younger brother Keon — known as DB3 (Davis Brothers Three) — had dreams as kids of leaving “The 757” to become boxing world champions. Following in the footsteps of other local legends of the Hampton Roads area, which includes Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News, was a challenge because of rising crime rates, multigenerational poverty and a lack of affordable housing in the city.
“It’s super hard to make it out of here because we don’t have resources other cities have,” Davis told ESPN. “If an athlete wants to make it out of The 757, they have to be the golden child.”
And one of those legends stepped into the recreation center.
“As soon as [Whitaker] walked through the door, all of the attention was on him,” Keyshawn recalled while making final preparations at the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas for his fight Saturday with Edwin De Los Santos at Scope Arena in Norfolk.
Keyshawn was only 2 years old when Whitaker, a four-division world champion, had his final professional fight against Carlos Bojorquez in 2001, but he had heard the stories and seen enough videos on YouTube to know all about “Sweet Pea” and idolized him. So when the man widely regarded as the greatest defensive boxer ever took a seat next to Keyshawn to watch Kelvin dominate his fight, the dream to be a world champion became tangible.
“He was watching my brother fight,” Keyshawn said, still in disbelief at the moment. “He was hollering, shouting instructions, and I could see he was really into it. As a little brother, to see a boxing legend from our city support my older brother meant the world to me. I looked up to my big brother, and ‘Sweet Pea’ was talking to him.
“That was the day I realized that we got it. We can really fight, and we’re going to make it.”
Whitaker helped the Davis brothers by being around them in the gym, giving them pointers, and teaching them boxing techniques before he died in 2019.
Though Davis is the first world champion boxer since Whitaker to come out of Norfolk, he follows in an extraordinary line of athletes from the area, such as former NFL quarterback and current Norfolk State head football coach Michael Vick, NBA icon Allen Iverson and the NFL’s all-time sack leader Bruce Smith, among others.
And when you look ringside at Keyshawn’s fights, you’ll see Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander seated with Vick, Smith and Iverson to watch “The Businessman” apply his craft. A group of legends supporting one of its own isn’t out of the ordinary in this area. There’s great pride in being part of this community.
“The support is in our DNA,” Alexander told ESPN. “This connection to legacy and family may not be kin by blood, but you’re kin because you are part of the fabric of ‘the 757.’ We don’t take that lightly. He’s one of us and therefore gets unconditional support.”
THE IDEA OF showing up for the athletes is nothing new. Vick told ESPN he grew up seeing Whitaker at the local Boys & Girls Club, and once spotted Smith at a Hampton University football game. Those sightings helped inspire his pursuit of greatness, he said, and just like those before him, Vick has made it a priority to pay it forward by supporting Davis the same way.
“We have to show up for Keyshawn,” said Vick, who has been watching Davis since his Olympic run. “He’s our champion, so people like me, Bruce Smith, Mayor Alexander and Allen Iverson have to show up to let the world know how we support our own. Now, when he goes places, people know he has people like us in his network. We’re going to make sure he’s all right.”
Davis gushed over a recent phone call with Iverson and Vick, during which he sat and listened to two game-changing athletes from his area offer advice and their support for the young fighter.
“They were hyping me up before my fight,” Davis said. “Do you know how crazy that is?”
Vick said that Saturday at Scope Arena will be no different from any other Davis fight as the former No. 1 overall pick plans to be ringside.
“We have to cherish these moments to see him,” Vick said. “As a city, we have to appreciate these moments because we may not get a Keyshawn fight in Norfolk again. He’s so good that eventually all of his fights will be in Las Vegas.”
Keyshawn has a long way to go before he matches the success of Whitaker, who was a gold medalist at the 1984 Olympic Games. However, at 26 years old with an Olympic silver medal from the 2020 Tokyo Games, he’s well on his way.
Davis is the latest high-caliber talent to come out of “The 757,” but it’s unlikely he’ll be the last because of the makeup of the region and these hometown stars’ commitment to the community.
“Keyshawn grew up idolizing Pernell, not only for what he did inside the ring, but for what he meant and still means to [the Norfolk] community,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told ESPN. “[Keyshawn] had taken the torch from the late, great ‘Sweet Pea’ and is now a beloved figure in Norfolk and the Seven Cities. Keyshawn is using his platform to help the next generation of young men and women.”
With the city council issuing the proclamation that June 2 through June 8 is “Keyshawn Davis Week” in Norfolk on Wednesday, Davis’ goal to follow in the footsteps of his idol in and out of the ring is coming to fruition.
“I always told myself that I was going to work within the city, so the people know that I am the city, and I am for the city,” Davis said. “I need the people behind me so we can take this as far as possible.”
ALONG WITH HALL of Fame athletes, the area has produced Grammy Award-winning musicians Pharrell, Timbaland, Missy Elliott and the late Ella Fitzgerald. Olympic gold medal gymnast Gabby Douglas, NBA champion Alonzo Mourning and comedians Wanda Sykes and Jay Pharoah also represent the area.
“You have a melting pot of talent, and the secret sauce is that mixing of ideas, belief, drive and grit,” Alexander said of the area’s rich and diverse talent pool. “That’s what’s different about Norfolk and ‘the 757.’ We’re people who aren’t trained to be perfect; we are trained to be consistent. Norfolk will birth consistent talent. Some people are only there for a moment. We’re not moment people. We are a movement.”
The movement is the reason accomplished athletes like Vick come home and give back. Before taking the job at Norfolk State in December, Vick had a more lucrative offer on the other side of the country at Sacramento State. But the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback knew where his heart was and what he needed to do.
“There was more money involved, but I passed all that up to come home,” said Vick, who established The Vick Foundation nonprofit organization in 2006 to support at-risk youth with after-school programs in the Hampton Roads area. “While somebody might think that was a crazy decision, sometimes everything in life ain’t all about money. We have people in our community who really care about the youth and pour into them.”
Giving back is also a huge motivation for Davis, but the cornerstone of it all is his success inside the ring.
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Keyshawn Davis claims WBO lightweight title with 4th-round TKO
Keyshawn Davis wins via TKO in the fourth round to become the new WBO lightweight champion at 135 pounds.
Davis, regarded as a future pound-for-pound fighter who trains with world champions such as Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson, has a style that falls somewhere between Crawford’s vicious offense and Stevenson’s elite technical ability. Davis has cultivated a fan base by being dominant and entertaining.
He needed just four rounds to tear apart previously undefeated Ukrainian fighter Denys Berinchyk to become a world champion in February. He’s already targeting fights at 140, 147 and 154 pounds and believes his best is yet to come.
“When it’s all said and done, I’m going to be called one of the greatest of all time,” said Davis, who has called for fights against Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Teofimo Lopez. “I may not be the biggest star right now, so a lot of these guys don’t want to take a chance fighting me. I already have the skill and ability, but once I reach a certain status, they won’t be able to run from me any longer.”
Davis has the tools to become a game changer like those before him, but Vick’s advice is for Keyshawn to be conscious of everything around him.
“It takes an unlimited amount of discipline,” said Vick, who faced a litany of legal issues during his career, including the Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting investigation in 2007 that led to a 23-month prison sentence and NFL suspension while at the peak of his football career. “People don’t understand the sacrifices we have to make on a daily basis to be successful. You can be doing everything right and screw it all up in 30 seconds. And then that’s all they’re going to talk about. Fortunately, he has good people around him and is disciplined. And I’ll be there to advise him whenever he needs me.”
Davis, who recently became a father, has a lot riding on his success and said he is focused on his goals.
“I told myself that I will not fumble,” Davis said. “There’s no pressure for me to succeed because success is the mentality of ‘The 757.’ That’s what Michael Vick had, that’s what Allen Iverson had, that’s what Pernell Whitaker had and that’s what I have. I will show you that I am undeniable and put on for my city.”
