Hitchins Betting on a Vacant WBO Belt to Unlock a Bigger Keyshawn Fight

Richardson Hitchins says they weren’t going to pay him the money that he wanted for him to fight Keyshawn Davis on the January 31st card at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Hitchins states that he believes that a fight against Keyshawn will be worth a lot more money if he captures the WBO 140-lb title in 2026.

For Davis to win the WBO belt, his ‘brother,’ Shakur Stevenson, will need to defeat 140-lb champion Teofimo Lopez on January 31st. Shakur has already said he’ll vacate the WBO belt so his “brother” Keyshawn can have it.

That’s what Hitchins is counting on happening. Davis would still need to win the belt. It’s not something Shakur can gift him as a late Christmas present. Keyshawn hasn’t looked unbeatable during his short career. So, if he gets the wrong contender, he could be out of luck.

“It’s a big fight in the future. The money that I wanted, they wasn’t trying to bring to the table,” said Richardson Hitchins to YSM Sports Media about him not being offered the money he wanted to fight Keyshawn Davis on January 31, 2026. “The money that he wanted, I heard, they wasn’t trying to bring to the table.

“I feel like the numbers we were asking for was chump change for the type of fight of fight that it could be,” said Hitchins about the money he and Keyshawn wanted for them to fight on January 31st.

According to Tim Bradley, Hitchins wanted $2.5 million, while Keyshawn was asking for $2 million. As Hitchins points out, they weren’t willing to pay them what they wanted.

It’s easy to see why. Davis has been too inactive to build his star power up, and his opposition hasn’t been popular enough to help him in that department. He hasn’t shown himself to be a risk-taker by electing not to fight Andy Cruz.

Keyshawn missing weight for the title defense of his WBO lightweight belt against Edwin De Los Santos on June 6, 2025, cost him his title as well as the fight.

Hitchins has failed to establish himself by turning down fights against Gary Antuanne Russell, Subriel Matias, and Ernesto Mercado. If he’d fought those guys and beaten them, his popularity would be much further along than it is now.

The only semi-notable names on Hitchins’ resume are George Kambosos Jr., Liam Paro, Gustavo Lemos, and Jose Zepeda. That’s not good enough anymore. If those fights had taken place four to five years ago, it would mean more, but not now.

To be a name at 140 in 2025, Richardson needs wins over fighters like Gary Antuanne Russell, Frank Martin, Subriel Matias, Teofimo, Isaac Cruz, Ernesto Mercado, and Keyshawn.

“He’s not even a champion yet [at 140]. I feel if he does go out there and he do get a title, and it could be a unification fight, it would bring that much more money to the table,” said Hitchins.

“Shakur will vacate the WBO belt, and I think Tito Mercado will be the next guy in line for the WBO belt. Keyshawn is #1 for the WBO. So, maybe them two can match up, and after that, me and Keyshawn can go out there and unifiy in 2026,” said Hitchins, assuming that Davis would beat Mercado.

Richardson is doing a lot of guesswork, believing that Keyshawn would beat Ernesto ‘Tito’ Mercado if the WBO title falls vacant in 2026. That’s a fight that the highly selective Keyshawn would have to agree to.

Given his past history of being selective in the opponents he faces, it’s questionable whether he would agree to face a power puncher with the speed, youth, and talent of Mercado.

Moreover, Mercado is ranked #8 WBO. He would not be “the next in line” in the WBO’s rankings if the title is vacated, if Stevenson gets his hands on it. The next highest-ranked contender in the WBO’s top 15 at 140 is #2 Alfredo Santiago.