Top Rank won the purse bid for the WBO welterweight title fight between champion Devin Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) and mandatory challenger Keyshawn Davis (15-0, 10 KOs) on Thursday, submitting a winning offer of $8,550,000 at the sanctioning body’s headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“Top Rank has secured the promotional rights for the WBO Welterweight Championship showdown between Devin Haney and Keyshawn Davis with a winning purse bid of $8,550,000,” the WBO announced on X. “Congratulations to all parties involved. We look forward to an outstanding world championship event.”
Takeover Promotions, the company founded by unified junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez, was the only other bidder at $2,350,000, according to BoxingScene. The outlet reported that Top Rank informed the WBO in its bid letter that it intends to stage the fight October 3, with Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, and State Farm Arena in Atlanta under consideration as the venue.
Under WBO regulations, Haney receives 75 percent of the winning bid as champion, a purse of $6,412,500. Davis, as the challenger, receives 25 percent, or $2,137,500.
The result closes a negotiation period that grew contentious in its final days. The WBO ordered purse bid proceedings earlier this month after the two camps failed to reach a deal within the 20-day window the Championship Committee opened on June 30. The bid, originally scheduled for July 27, was conducted Thursday morning.
In the days before the hearing, Bill Haney, the champion’s father and manager, publicly accused Davis of stalling. “Keyshawn Davis has gone missing with millions on the table for his team and family,” he posted on X, in comments reported by Boxing News 24. “Latest update: Still looking for the businessman.”
Davis answered during an Instagram Live session, insisting he was dealing directly with Top Rank rather than the Haney camp. “Y’all really thought I was hiding? I’mma break all this down. I thought these dudes was the champions. It look like these dudes chasing after me,” Davis said, per Boxing 247. “Why the [expletive] would I get you on the phone and try to negotiate anything with you, Bill? You not putting up no money. Didn’t you just sign with a promoter? We not talking to you, Bill. I know what’s going to happen tomorrow on this purse bid. I already had conversations with his bosses. I know the numbers. Why am I going back and forth on Twitter when I’m having conversations with the people that’s putting the fight on?”
Veteran reporter Dan Rafael reported this week that Haney’s side had completed its portion of a negotiated agreement before the bid, leaving the gap between Top Rank’s offer and Davis’ asking price as the remaining obstacle. That gap sent the fight to Thursday’s hearing, where the minimum bid was set at $200,000.
Haney captured the WBO welterweight title in November with a unanimous decision over Brian Norman Jr. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, becoming a three-division champion. He has not fought since. His team explored other options in the interim, including a proposed catchweight bout with Shakur Stevenson and a unification with WBA champion Rolly Romero, before the WBO enforced the mandatory.
Davis, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist from Norfolk, Virginia, will be making his welterweight debut. The former WBO lightweight champion went 2-0 at junior welterweight, stopping Jamaine Ortiz in January before sweeping the scorecards against Nahir Albright in their May rematch at Scope Arena. After that fight, Davis turned down a shot at the vacant IBF junior welterweight title against Lindolfo Delgado, choosing instead to pursue the move to 147 pounds, where the WBO installed him as its No. 1 contender.
