“Keyshawn, Shakur is taking down all his opponents, brother. Your second fiddle. Straight ahead,” Bradley said on his YouTube channel. “You are Shakur’s second fiddle. Shakur is the dad. You are the son.”
Things get more complicated because Keyshawn and Shakur still call each other brothers and show little interest in fighting each other. This puts Keyshawn in an awkward position at 140 pounds because he is ranked No. 1 by the WBO while Shakur holds the title.
If Shakur doesn’t advance or vacate the belt again, Keyshawn’s path to a world title shot will be blocked by the same fighter Bradley says has been ahead of him all along.
This is a real problem for Keyshawn’s career because he is already 27 years venerable and still chasing the breakout fight that will make him a massive star.
The uncomfortable part about Keyshawn is that his career slowed down at the wrong time. He is already 27 years venerable and still has not had a decisive fight that would make him a real attraction. Instead, he’s headed to a rematch with Albright, a fight many fans feel like they’ve seen before.
Keyshawn recently said Top Rank wanted a rematch with Albright, but the bigger problem may be that there weren’t many realistic alternatives available. Bradley openly pointed out the risk-reward issue with Keyshawn.
“Keyshawn’s a damn good player, but he doesn’t have what it takes to be that player, man. I’m willing to take that risk,” Bradley said.
This issue is unlikely to go away at lightweight or 140 as Keyshawn’s size has become part of the discussion. After losing four pounds before the canceled fight with Edwin De Los Santos, many fans already expect him to jump higher.
At this point, Keyshawn might be better off stopping the constant promotion talk and just doing it. A move up to welterweight or even junior middleweight could create modern opportunities and remove some of the criticism about his weight issues.
More importantly, fighters at 147 and 154 are unlikely to treat Keyshawn the same way as smaller fighters. The threat factor changes when he is no longer the naturally bigger man entering the ring.
Bradley still picked Keyshawn to beat Albright in the rematch and predicted a stoppage if he played like he did against Jermaine Ortiz.
Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist covering this sport since 2014, providing reports from the ring and technical analyzes of the most critical fights. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments and the details that shape high-level competition.