During a recent YouTube appearance, Davis made it clear that his days of paying for alphabet soup titles are over.
Belts are no longer part of Davis’ strategy
“I don’t pay sanction fees anymore,” Keyshawn said. “I don’t feel like it’s worth it. I’m a superstar. Superstars don’t need belts. Belts need superstars.”
For Davis, it’s not just about saving money. This move aims to shift the leverage back to the fighter.
“It’s principle,” Davis said. “What am I paying for? They don’t do anything for me. I bring the people. I bring the attention. They need me more than I need them.”
Davis doesn’t just talk. He has a resume that supports his ego. Since turning pro in 2021, he has moved at a rapid pace. He captured the WBO lightweight title by knocking out Denys Berinchyk in four rounds. A year later, Davis systematically dismantled Jamaine Ortiz with a relentless body attack, stopping him in the 12th round on January 31, 2026. Add wins over Jose Pedraza and Gustavo Lemos to the tally, and you have a fighter who has officially outgrown the “prospect” tag.
Jumping to 147 pounds without a ranking, Keyshawn is betting everything on his own name. He enters a division where names like Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn dictate the terms. These men don’t need a mandatory order to sell out an arena.
In the past, Davis has used his lightweight title as a compass to navigate his way to the top. At welterweight, he throws that compass away. He’s betting that his talent and his “superstar” aura will be enough to lure the big names without a belt into the ring.
This is a big risk. Without a title, Davis can’t force anyone to fight him. He must make himself so inevitable and so profitable that the champions have no choice but to sign the contract. Whether the big fights materialize or he finds himself frozen out remains to be seen.
It feels like Keyshawn is putting the cart before the horse. Calling yourself a “superstar” usually requires a career-defining win over an elite, top-tier opponent, and Keyshawn hasn’t had that moment yet.
Beating Jose Pedraza and Denis Berinchyk is good work, but it doesn’t give you the leverage of a Canelo Alvarez or even a Ryan Garcia. Those guys have the commercial numbers to back up the “belts need me” talk. Without that massive fan base or a pay-per-view record, walking away from the sanctioning bodies may look less like a power move and more like a way to avoid mandatory challenges.
The jump to 147 to face Haney is especially bold. Haney is a massive welterweight. For Keyshawn to jump the line and claim a title shot in a new division after just one fight at 140 is a big ask. This is the “modern boxing” mentality: trying to manufacture superstar status through talk and selective matchups rather than the old-school “blood and guts” route.
If he gets the Haney fight and loses, this “no belts” stance is going to look like a massive tactical error. He will be a contender with no ranking and no hardware to fall back on.
