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.
