After failing to secure a unification bout with Rolly Romero or a showdown with super lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, WBO welterweight titlist Devin Haney is on the clock to meet mandatory challenger Keyshawn. Sanctioning body president Gustavo Olivieri has given the pair 20 days to negotiate and avoid a purse bid, which would see Haney the beneficiary of a 75/25 split.
Stop by the comments in that post to see Olivieri try and justify the questionable rankings involved, complete with a cameo
from former no. 1 contender Jack Catterall.
Olympic silver medalist Davis (15-0, 10 KO) thrashed Denys Berinchyk for the lightweight title in February of last year, only to lose it on the scales ahead of a planned defense against Edwin De Los Santos. Two appearances at 140 followed, both dominant victories over Jamaine Ortiz and Nahir Albright, but barely made weight against he latter and subsequently elected to jump up to 147 rather than get better at keeping his size in check.
While he’s potentially skilled enough to get away with the James Toney approach to fitness for a while yet, it’s a bad look, much like how it’s a bad look for the WBO to name him the mandatory challenger without a single win in the division. Then again, Manny Pacquiao is no. 2 without a win in the 2020s, so I guess it could be worse.
Haney (33-0, 15 KO) hasn’t seen action since outclassing Brian Norman Jr to become a three-division champion in November. He appears to be out of options to avoid Davis, so we’ll see if this one gets over the finish line.
