Edwin De Los Santos, the Dominican pro-boxer, last fought on November 16, 2023, in a high-profile bout against Shakur Stevenson. He had lost the fight by unanimous decision, slipping his chance to hold the vacant WBC lightweight title. Following the bout, the 25-year-old couldn’t immediately secure another fight. It has been two years now, and the 16-2 boxer is still trying to get back in the ring.

De Los Santos has the potential to do better. But, the situations don’t seem to allow that. First, his fight with Stevenson was unsuccessful. During the whole thing, the 23-0 boxer showed reluctance in engaging with his opponent. It lacked action and excitement, with fans booing throughout the bout. Stevenson himself admitted that he didn’t feel good before the match, and he was focused on the injury to his left hand, becoming more cautious while throwing punches.

Naturally, fans weren’t enthusiastic about seeing either of them fight. Finally, after a long break, Top Rank offered De Los Santos a chance to face the recently crowned WBO lightweight champion, Keyshawn Davis. His purse share was reported at $200K, and the fight was going to happen on June 7th in Norfolk, Virginia. However, ‘The Grenade’ reportedly rejected the proposal on April 8th. His promoter Sampson Lewkowicz was believed to be negotiating the ongoing deal, but recent updates on the X handle of Brunch Boxing reveal mishaps.

“Top Rank’s Carl Moretti says that Edwin De Los Santos was offered at least $400K to fight Keyshawn Davis,” the post had said. Replying to the thread, Edwin De Los Santos said, “Now look at this I ain’t even know there was 400k, my promotor offered me 225k,” lifting the curtain off what was actually going on.

While promoter frauds are not a widespread issue in boxing, they do happen. If that is the case here, or if this has much more to do a communication error has not yet been clarified by De Los Santos’ team. However, regardless of the mishap, based on another update hours ago, it seems things have worked out well for the Dominican in the end.

Edwin De Los Santos, back to the top

In a recent update from The Ring’s Mike Coppinger, despite initial challenges in securing De Los Santos, the reigning WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis is now slated to defend his title for the first time against Edwin De Los Santos on June 7, 2025, in Davis’s hometown of Norfolk, Virginia. The fight, promoted by Top Rank, will be Davis’s first title defense in Norfolk, where he previously drew a crowd of 10,000 for a bout against Gustavo Lemos in November 2024.

Davis captured the WBO lightweight crown on February 15, 2025, with a stunning fourth-round knockout of Denys Berinchyk at Madison Square Garden. The victory solidified the 26-year-old’s status as one of boxing’s brightest young stars.

For Davis, it’s a chance to cement his reign and thrill his hometown crowd. For De Los Santos, it’s an opportunity to defy the odds and reclaim his place among the lightweight elite once again.

Do you think Edwin De Los Santos has what it takes to deal Keyshawn Davis his first professional loss?