Devin Haney Has To Make A Decision Quickly

The WBO has moved to enforce its mandatory welterweight title defense, ordering purse-bid proceedings for champion Devin Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) and mandatory challenger Keyshawn Davis (15-0, 10 KOs) after negotiations between the two camps failed to produce an agreement.

The purse bid will take place on Monday, July 27, at WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and will be streamed live on the organization’s social media channels. The minimum bid is set at $200,000, with the purse split fixed at 75 percent for Haney and 25 percent for Davis under WBO regulations.

The sanctioning body opened a 20-day negotiating period on June 30 and directed both sides to reach an agreement. The notice was addressed to Haney’s father and manager, Bill Haney, and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who promotes Davis. That window closed on Monday without a signed agreement, triggering the purse-bid process.

Any promoter registered and in good standing with the WBO may submit a bid. The winning bidder will earn the promotional rights to the fight, with the purse distributed according to the established 75-25 split. Haney receives the larger share because he is the defending champion.

Haney captured the WBO welterweight title last November, defeating Brian Norman Jr. by unanimous decision in Riyadh to become a three-division champion. He has not returned to the ring since.

In the months that followed, Bill Haney explored other possibilities, including a 144-pound catchweight fight with WBO junior-welterweight champion Shakur Stevenson and a potential unification bout with Rolly Romero. Neither matchup was finalized before the WBO ordered Haney to face Davis.

Davis, a 2020 Olympic silver medalist from Norfolk, Virginia, took an unconventional route to the mandatory position. He captured the WBO lightweight title by stopping Denys Berinchyk in the fourth round in February 2025 but lost the belt on the scales after missing weight ahead of a scheduled defense against Edwin De Los Santos.

He then moved up to junior welterweight, stopping Jamaine Ortiz in the 12th round in January before earning a unanimous decision over Nahir Albright in their May rematch in Norfolk. Davis was subsequently elevated to the No. 1 position in the WBO’s welterweight rankings despite not yet competing at 147 pounds.

Bill Haney acknowledged the possibility while negotiations with Stevenson were still active.

“I respect the WBO. I respect the rules,” he said on the Cigar Talk podcast, confirming that Davis would be next if the Stevenson matchup could not be arranged.

The two sides can still reach a private agreement before July 27 and cancel the purse bid. Otherwise, the winning bidder will determine who promotes Haney’s first defense of the WBO welterweight title.