Norfolk’s Keyshawn Davis kept his boxing career on its upward trajectory Saturday night, defeating Francesco Patera of Belgium in a 10-round lightweight bout at sold-out FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Patera (28-4, 10 knockouts) never had been knocked down as a pro until Davis (9-0 with six KOs) floored him in the eighth round with a right hand. He won the fight by margins of 100-89 and 100-90 on the judges’ cards, meaning they perceived him as the winner of each round.
Keyshawn Davis drops Francesco Patera with a straight right counter in RD8 🎯 #DavisPatera | #KambososHughespic.twitter.com/Onq4ZgpaRj
— RINGOFHIGHLIGHTS (@ringofhighlight) July 23, 2023
Davis, a Granby High graduate, was a huge favorite. According to the Bovada sportsbook Saturday afternoon, it would have taken a $33 beat to win $1 with a Davis victory.
Davis, 24, represented his city with his attire, wearing a black belt with white “NORFOLK” lettering, with white and red shorts.
He dominated the 30-year-old former European lightweight champ and remained the U.S., World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization intercontinental lightweight champion, though his goals are far higher.
Some of his fans gathered in Portsmouth for a watch party, a snippet of which was shown on the ESPN broadcast just before the judges’ scores were announced. On the broadcast, play-by-play man Joe Tessitore said Davis connected on 162 punches to Patera’s 61.
Interviewed in the ring after his victory, Davis thanked God.
“He brought me here in fantastic shape. My stomach ain’t feel the best, but I got through it,” he said.
Davis gave himself a “C-plus, B-minus” for the performance, but “we got the win and that’s all the matters. I can’t be too hard on myself for not stopping these guys because they got way more experience than me. I’m beating these guys every round, sticking to my game plan, listening to my coaches, and having a lot of fun in here.”
Davis continued in the ring, “It was a helluva performance, the people here love me, my fans at home love me. The Businessman got a long career, and we here to stay, baby.”
Patera hadn’t lost in his last 10 fights since 2017.
Davis, the silver medalist in the 2019 world championships the and Olympics two years ago, was the co-feature on a Top Rank card capped by a lightweight bout of Australia’s George Kambosos Jr. against Great Britain’s Maxi Hughes.
