Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis claims a blockbuster was there for the taking - only for Teofimo Lopez to turn it down. Speaking on the Cigar Talks podcast, the WBO lightweight titleholder revealed that Saudi deal-maker Turki Alalshikh phoned Lopez’s camp offering “the same bread” Lopez would earn to face welterweight king Jaron “Boots” Ennis. According to Davis, Lopez passed, insisting on an Ennis title shot instead. “That’s scared,” Davis said. “Forget ducking - you’re scared to fight me.”
Still Lopez’s logic is clear: beating the No. 1 welterweight brings greater upside than tangling with a lightweight who, for all his Olympic silver pedigree, still sits behind Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson, and amateur nemesis Andy Cruz in most pound-for-pound debates. Yet Davis flipped that narrative, arguing Lopez’s rejection undercuts his own bravado. “I knew he was nervous, but not to that extent,” he added, before accusing Lopez of negotiating theatrics similar to those that scuttled the proposed Devin Haney bout.
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Critics were quick to point out that Davis has his own blind spots. He has yet to pursue a pro meeting with Cruz, who beat him four times in the amateurs, or to climb to 147 lbs and chase Ennis himself. Instead, the 26-year-old headlines Saturday in Norfolk against Dominican southpaw Edwin De Los Santos, a talented puncher returning from two years marred by blood-clot issues. Davis insists De Los Santos is “one of the good ones at 135,” while detractors say the pick looks more like risk management than ambition.
Lopez has remained publicly silent on the equal-pay claim, focusing on his mandatory obligations at 140 lbs and a potential jump to welterweight. If Davis’s account is accurate, Turki’s cheque book may yet tempt Lopez back to the table.
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