Keyshawn Davis petitions to become No. 1 contender to Teofimo Lopez
Aug 26, 2025 • 11:54 AM ET
Recent lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis has petitioned the WBO to become the No. 1 contender to 140lbs champion Teofimo Lopez, BoxingScene has learned.
Former U.S. Olympic silver-medalist Davis 13-0 (9 KOs) is expected to be granted the No. 1 spot over current mandatory challenger Alfredo Santiago 17-2 (8 KOs) of the Dominican Republic, leading to a Davis-Santiago bout for the WBO interim title, an official familiar with the situation said.
Davis, 26, captured the WBO lightweight title in February with a scintillating fourth-round knockout of then-champion Denys Berinchyk.
As glowing as that effort was, Davis’ first title defense in June was an unmitigated disaster, as he missed weight for his scheduled hometown bout in Virginia against Edwin De Los Santos, scrapping that fight, then was involved in a scuffle with a fighter, Nahir Albright, who had defeated Davis’ brother, Kelvin, by majority decision on the June card.
Keyshawn Davis earlier this summer said he was planning an extended break from boxing, but the bid to move to 140lbs is logical, as champion Lopez 22-1 (13 KOs) has fought just three times since his June 2023 victory over former undisputed champion Josh Taylor.
Lopez, 28, produced a convincing unanimous-decision victory May 2 at New York’s Times Square over interim champion Arnold Barboza Jnr, but then withdrew from talks to fight Devin Haney in November.
Lopez has flirted with the notion of fighting Shakur Stevenson, but one official said the interest in ensuring the WBO’s 140lbs division doesn’t go “frozen” by a champion’s inactivity is part of the interest in granting Davis’ request.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
