“Devin Haney definitely on my hit list and we making that happen 2026,” choosing his words carefully, Keyshawn Davis told Chris Mannix after he knocked out Jamaine Ortiz on the Shakur Stevenson-Teofimo Lopez card on January 31. Seven months later, just when all that remained was his acceptance, Davis rejected the fight.

His excuse: the fight purse fell short of his expectations. The developments that followed after negotiations for the title fight against WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney reached the purse bid stage have now exploded across social media, with many experts and users slamming Keyshawn Davis for rejecting an offer that could have set him up for marquee fights in the future.

“Keyshawn Davis turned down a career-high payday by about more than double to duck Haney in a title fight he didn’t deserve much less as a mandatory (having never fought at 147 & having not even won a title at 140),” read veteran boxing reporter Dan Rafael’s X post. “Stripped of 135 for dramatically blowing weight & fucking up Top Rank’s show in his hometown & then causing a melee backstage & got kicked out of arena. Continues to nuke his career.”

That criticism reflects the frustration expressed by the veteran journalists and many fans following Top Rank’s successful purse bid over Teofimo Lopez’s Takeover Promotions for the Haney fight.

Top Rank reportedly placed a winning bid of $8.55 million in contrast to Takeover’s $2.35 million. The purse was subsequently split 75%-25% between Haney, the champion, and Davis, the challenger. As a result, Haney would have received $6.4 million and Davis about $2.1 million.

Despite the amount being the highest he would have received to date, the 27-year-old decided that was not acceptable and turned down the deal.

Though incorrectly attributing the remark to Davis himself, popular boxing and MMA telecaster Dan Canobbio wrote, “Keyshawn said the $2.3M purse ’embarrassingly low’ (via @pugboxing). Unbelievable. He was basically gifted this title shot. What other fight-out is there? Is he getting that type of money?”

As reported by BoxingScene, it was an official, presumably someone from Keyshawn Davis’s camp, who suggested that the proposed payday was unfairly low. So they decided not to accept the fight under those terms. Fans, however, did not seem willing to buy those claims.

Keyshawn Davis’ biggest opponent this week? Public opinion

One wrote bluntly, “He’s f–king retarded cz even if he were to do this fight and come up short, he can still rebuild his career; he should be marooned for calling himself a businessman.” That’s a fair assessment. Coming off an impressive win against Ortiz, had Davis suffered his first career loss against a brilliant boxer like Devin Haney, his stock would have still remained high.

From that position, he could have continued building his resume and pursued bigger payouts against marquee names.

Another user directed frustration at Davis’ team, saying, “He needs to fire J. Prince. This blunder after 2 really good wins at 140 is crazy. Keyshawn needs to petition to fight Shakur Stevenson for the title at 140. That’s the only way Keyshawn Davis gets his ba–s back.”

Ironically, that argument also points toward the answer. Despite the criticism Davis faced after being stripped of the WBO lightweight title for missing weight ahead of the Edwin De Los Santos fight, and after the backstage brawl involving rival Nahir Albright, his manager J Prince guided him into a new weight class and favourable matchups that eventually earned him a title shot.

“I actually enjoy watching him fight more than guys like Teo, Haney, and Shakur, but he really lost me as a fan,” said another fan. “Have no interest in him fighting Top Rank leftovers when he could have had this fight.”

That sentiment stands out. Both experts and fans agree that Davis has the tools necessary to become a generational great. He possesses the rare ability to excel in both offense and defense, making him a multi-dimensional boxer. Given those qualities, all he needs is to stay focused and disciplined about his future.

“These new dudes will talk the absolute most sh-t on Twitter, which can be good promo if you’re gonna fight, but then turn around and not fight. He’s having an L of a year,” one user wrote.

“All he had to do was fight em for the low if he beat em he can make sure he get that $$ next time u can tell these ni**as be spoiled lil brats they whole life.. ni–a don’t know sh-t bout business,” added another fan.

For someone nicknamed “The Businessman,” Keyshawn Davis seems to have shown a side that reflected poor business acumen.

The problem is that this perception will now be added to the question already surrounding his skills and attitude. If there’s still room to reconsider, it would serve him well to revisit the deal and accept the fight. His next matchups will likely be judged against what transpired this week.