Top Rank Cuts Keyshawn Davis Loose as Hitchins Fight Collapses
Keyshawn Davis has been released from his Top Rank contract, and Richardson Hitchins says their proposed fight is dead.
Keyshawn Davis is a free agent. The Olympic silver medalist requested and received a release from his Top Rank promotional contract despite having one fight remaining on the deal, per Joe Profit of the O.S.O.S. podcast, who spoke directly with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.
Arum was characteristically blunt about the split. The veteran promoter showed no interest in pursuing a legal battle to keep Davis under contract and appeared indifferent about losing one of boxing's brightest young talents.
The release comes amid the collapse of a proposed fight between Davis and Richardson Hitchins. Hitchins took to social media to declare the bout dead, claiming Davis demanded $6 million.
"He was asking for 6ms to fight me," Hitchins said. "I been agreed to the fight going on 2 months. I was wondering what was the hold up."
Hitchins also pointed out that Davis has never earned more than $1 million in boxing, making the demand difficult to justify. For context, when a WBO purse bid for a Davis fight against Devin Haney was won by Top Rank at $8.55 million, Davis's share under the mandatory 75/25 split would have been roughly $2.14 million. Top Rank reportedly offered Davis $3 million for the Haney fight. He rejected it and later withdrew.
Davis, the WBO's No. 1 ranked welterweight contender, now faces an uncertain path forward. Without a promotional home and with a growing reputation for turning down fights, finding the right platform will require a reset. The talent has never been in question. Davis was considered one of the sport's most exciting prospects after his silver medal run at the Tokyo Olympics. But talent alone does not fill arenas or close deals.
The timing is notable given that Devin Haney, the WBO welterweight champion, just signed an exclusive multi-fight deal with DAZN. A Haney-Davis fight had been widely expected. Whether it can still happen without Top Rank in Davis's corner remains to be seen.
I'll be honest, this is a bad look for Keyshawn Davis. The kid can fight, nobody is arguing that. But asking for $6 million when your biggest payday has been south of a million? That is not how you negotiate. That is how you price yourself out of the fights that would actually get you to $6 million.
Top Rank was not going to beg. Bob Arum has been in this game since Muhammad Ali was in his prime. He is not chasing a fighter who does not want to be there. And Hitchins did everything right here: agreed to the fight, waited two months, and watched it fall apart because the other side wanted superstar money on a prospect's resume.
Davis needs to look at what Teofimo Lopez just did. Signed with DAZN. Immediately got a title fight. Devin Haney signed with DAZN and has a clear path forward. These guys understand that you take the fights, build the resume, and the money follows. Davis is trying to skip the line, and the line does not work that way.
