WBO Sets Devin Haney Next Fight?

World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Devin Haney has been ordered to begin negotiations with mandatory challenger and former WBO lightweight champ Keyshawn Davis 

The WBO announcement on Tuesday, gives both fighters 20 days to reach terms for a championship fight. If an agreement is finalized within that period, the camps will then have an additional 10 days to submit the signed bout contracts, along with confirmation of the fight date and venue.

Should the two sides fail to reach a deal, the WBO will move forward with a purse bid to determine promotional rights, where Haney especially, would likely lose out on significant guaranteed money.

From their official letter to both fighters, WBO championship committee chair Luis Batista Salazar said,

“Please be advised that, pursuant to the authority vested in the World Boxing Organization (“WBO”) Championship Committee under the WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests, the Committee hereby orders the immediate commencement of negotiations for the WBO Welterweight Mandatory Championship Contest between reigning WBO Welterweight Champion Devin Haney and the WBO’s number one world-rated contender, Mandatory Challenger, Keyshawn Davis.” 

The former undisputed lightweight champ Haney, 33-0, 15 KOs, captured the WBO 147 lb. title by defeating Brian Norman in Saudi Arabia. The unbeaten champion has not yet made the first defense of his championship.

He reacted on social media to the WBO announcement by posting "Let's Go" and then later clarified that he wants to fight Keyshawn Davis here,

As we previously wrote in early June, it seemed that Haney and current WBO junior welterweight champ Shakur Stevenson had agreed (at least on social media) to fight for Haney's title at a "catchweight" of 144 lb.

Stevenson made it very clear that he wanted to move up in weight divisions for the third straight bout to make that happen.

Alas, the WBO doesn't see it that way and has exercised it's leverage with their champion.

As for 27 year old Davis, 15-0, 10 KOs, he was last in the ring  scoring a unanimous decision over Nahir Albright in their rematch which headlined a Top Rank Boxing card May 16th in his hometown of Norfolk, VA.

Davis then declined the opportunity to face fellow Top Rank fighter Lindolfo Delgado for the vacant IBF junior welterweight title because he  wanted to move up to welterweight.

Davis is not without problems in his past, including failing a pre-fight drug test for marijuana that called off a Top Rank main event in October 2023. He also badly missed weight by over 4 lb. and was stripped of his WBO lightweight title before a defense with Edwin de los Santos in June 2025.

The key will be Haney and whether he can get the significant money he would want prior to the WBO deadline and purse bid?