KEYSHAWN DAVIS senses that the boxing public perceives him as an illegitimate lightweight contender.

Davis is ranked third among 135-pound challengers by three sanctioning organizations – the IBF, WBC and WBO. Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., Davis’ promoter, also represents two of those governing bodies’ champions, Vasiliy Lomachenko (IBF) and Denys Berinchyk (WBO).

The 25-year-old Davis views Ukraine’s Berinchyk as a more probable opponent in 2025, in large part because he isn’t sure if Lomachenko, a three-weight world champion from Ukraine, will box again.

Regardless, Davis, 11-0 (7 KOs, 1 NC), recognizes that beating Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos, 29-1 (19 KOs), in their 10-round fight on Friday night would afford him just the type of noteworthy victory he needs to convince critics that he deserves a title shot. Davis, a 2021 Olympic silver medallist, and Lemos will meet in a main event ESPN+ (and Sky Sports) will stream from Scope Arena in Davis’ hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.

Top Rank’s matchmakers pitched 38-year-old Jamaican veteran Nicholas Walters, 29-1-1 (22 KOs), as Davis’ opponent for Friday night. Davis didn’t think Walters would bolster his resume, however, because he has boxed only three times since Lomachenko made him quit on his stool after six rounds of action in November 2016 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

The 28-year-old Lemos, meanwhile, tested unbeaten super-lightweight contender Richardson Hitchins, 18-0 (7 KOs), in his last fight, a 12-round IBF elimination match Hitchins won closely on two scorecards on April 6 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

“I wanna change the narrative of Keyshawn Davis,” Davis told Boxing News. “When I go crazy on Lemos, the narratives are gonna change about Keyshawn Davis. Period. Now the public gonna be looking at me like, ‘He’s a real legit fighter. He’s really a world champion.’ The narratives are gonna change, and those are the two reasons why I chose Lemos.”

The 28-year-old Lemos mostly was unknown among American and British boxing fans before he lost to Hitchins by scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113.

“It was a very competitive fight,” Davis said. “Either guy could’ve pulled it off. It could’ve been a draw. You know what I’m saying? I don’t think it was actually a win for Hitchins, leaving the fight. You understand what I’m saying? He won the fight, but I don’t think that night was a win for him. He didn’t perform. That’s the word I’m looking for. He didn’t perform enough, and that’s what I’m looking forward to doing November 8. I’mma go in there and perform, go in there and get that win.”

New York’s Hitchins and Lemos competed at the super-lightweight limit of 140 pounds, but Lemos moved back down to the lightweight maximum of 135 to face Davis. A fast-handed combination puncher who oftentimes lets his hands go, Davis defeated hard-hitting Mexican Miguel Madueno, 31-3 (28 KOs), by the same score, 99-91, on all three cards in his last fight on July 6 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Davis doesn’t believe a narrower win a year ago against Philadelphia’s Nahir Albright was as close as the judges had it. He beat Albright, 16-2 (7 KOs, 1 NC), by majority decision in October 2023 at Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas, though that 10-round result was changed to a no-contest because Davis tested positive for marijuana, a banned substance in accordance with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation’s rules.

A confident Davis hopes defeating Lemos more impressively will sway naysayers who aren’t certain he can become a top champion.

“I feel like the fans don’t know if they wanna put me on that elite level, or keep me as this little contender,” Davis said. “They keep talking about how I’m 11-0, how I haven’t really proven myself yet, I didn’t do nothing in the sport of boxing yet for me to be talking like this. So, since y’all feel this way, when I beat the sh*t out of Lemos, what y’all gonna say then?”

Davis-Lemos will headline an eight-bout card ESPN+ will start streaming at 11:20 p.m. GMT in the UK and 6:20 p.m. ET in the United States. Middleweight prospect Troy Isley, 13-0 (5 KOs), of Alexandria, Virginia, is set to battle Tyler Howard, 20-1 (11 KOs), of Crossville, Tennessee, in the 10-round co-feature.