Keyshawn Davis Bails on Devin Haney Title Fight — Shakur Isn't Buying the Money Story

Keyshawn Davis just did something fighters almost never do: he turned down a mandatory world title shot worth more than $2 million. The 15-0 (10 KO) former lightweight champ was set to challenge Devin Haney for the WBO welterweight crown after Top Rank won the purse bids, only to email the WBO his withdrawal shortly after the numbers went public.

The reported reason? Davis felt he was being underpaid. But Shakur Stevenson — a four-division champion and one of Davis' closest allies — isn't sold on that being the whole picture. Speaking on the Cigar Talk YouTube channel, Stevenson said he doesn't buy that the pullout was purely about money, and that if Davis made this call, there's got to be more to the story.

How Davis Got Here

Davis' path to this point has been anything but tidy. He grabbed the WBO lightweight title by stopping Denys Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KO) in the fourth round last February, then lost the belt on the scales when his first defense against Edwin De Los Santos collapsed in the summer. From there, 'The Businessman' jumped to super-lightweight, stopping Jamaine Ortiz in January before edging Nahir Albright on the cards in a May rematch.

So after exactly two fights at 140, Davis pushed to leapfrog again — this time to 147, where he was mandated to face Haney straight away. That's an ambitious ask: a guy who's yet to build any real body of work at welterweight demanding a title fight against an unbeaten champion. The 30-day negotiation window ran dry, purse bids happened, and then Davis pulled the plug.

Stevenson's angle is worth sitting with. He said he's dealt with 'these people' before and knows how situations get made to look a certain way, adding that he's been in Davis' shoes himself. Read into that what you will — but it reframes the withdrawal as something beyond a fighter simply squabbling over a check.

What It Means for Haney

Haney, meanwhile, keeps rolling. The 33-0 champion is coming off a unanimous decision over Brian Norman Jr. and reportedly still wants to fight on the touted October 3 date. With Davis out, the obvious pivot is a unification against IBF welterweight titlist Liam Paro, who sits at 28-1 (16 KO) after outpointing Lewis Crocker. That's a far more compelling fight on paper than a green-at-147 Davis anyway — and it might be the best thing to come out of this whole mess.