Nahir Albright is heading back to Norfolk, Virginia, carrying a chip on his shoulder that goes beyond the result of his first fight with Keyshawn Davis, and he has made his intentions for Saturday night at the Scope Arena unmistakably clear.
The rematch headlines Top Rank’s inaugural event under its new deal with DAZN, making the bout especially significant as the first card of a new promotional partnership. The fight itself carries its own complicated history. Their October contest originally ended with Davis winning a majority decision before that result was overturned to a no-contest following a positive test for marijuana. The same arena where that fight took place also witnessed a backstage incident between the two that has fuelled the animosity heading into the rematch.
Albright, who carries a 17-2-1 record with seven knockouts, has been careful not to revisit the specifics of that backstage moment while making clear it still burns. He told Boxing Scene:
“Honestly, I don’t want to relive that moment, I just want to focus on this fight. It does motivate me. It is a chip on my shoulder, and it is unsettled. We have to handle it in the ring.”
The night of their first fight had been a difficult one for the Davis family overall. Albright had defeated Kelvin Davis, Keyshawn’s older brother, in a significant upset, while Keyshawn lost his WBO lightweight title on the scales after his scheduled fight against Edwin De Los Santos was cancelled when he missed weight. Abdullah Mason was elevated to the main event in the confusion that followed.
Albright is unbeaten since moving up to junior welterweight and has fought once since the Davis win, drawing with Frank Martin in February. He believes the weight class move and the lessons learned from the first contest make him a different fighter heading into Saturday.
“I felt I didn’t show all of myself that night. It is a new weight class now, and I am stronger. It is going to be different this time around.”
He left no ambiguity about his approach to walking into hostile territory in Davis’s hometown.
“My mindset is to go to Virginia and seek and destroy. Get him out of there, and show the world where I belong. It is personal. I am coming to fight, I am not coming to play with him. I am about to shock the world next week.”
Davis, 14-0 with 10 knockouts, is a 2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist who made his junior welterweight debut in January, stopping Jamaine Ortiz. The 27-year-old will have the Norfolk crowd firmly behind him.
