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

Richardson Hitchins walked away from the Keyshawn Davis fight for one reason, the money he says wasn’t there. He wanted a seven-figure purse, roughly $2.5 million, to meet Davis on the January 31st card at Madison Square Garden, but Top Rank wasn’t biting. Davis wanted about the same. That standoff tells you what’s really happening at 140: everyone wants to be paid like a headliner before proving they can draw like one.

Hitchins says he’s playing the long game and waiting until Davis becomes a champion and the purse doubles. In theory, that could happen if Shakur Stevenson beats Teofimo Lopez on that same January card and vacates the WBO belt, clearing the path for Davis. But that plan requires three things that rarely line up in boxing: Stevenson actually moving up and vacating, the WBO ordering Davis for the vacant title, and Davis beating whoever gets the call, possibly Ernesto “Tito” Mercado or Alfredo Santiago. That’s a chain of “ifs” so long it sounds like wishful math, not a business move.

The Real Numbers Problem

Both fighters are stuck between talent and market value. Davis hasn’t fought enough or taken the kind of risk that sells tickets beyond Norfolk. His inactivity since missing weight and losing his lightweight belt last June burned some goodwill. He’s slick, but slick doesn’t trend anymore unless you break someone down or get broken trying. Meanwhile, Hitchins has spent more energy talking about who turned him down than beating the names that matter. No Matias. No Russell. No Mercado.

His recent wins  over Zepeda, Paro, and Lemos and showed control and patience but not enough urgency. He wins rounds, not nights. He’s all discipline and no danger. The kind of fighter who makes a boxer look smart but a ticket look overpriced.

Business, Not Bravado

140 is crowded with punchers and personalities. You can’t play patient chess while everyone else is flipping the table. The sanctioning bodies won’t wait either. If Shakur wins and vacates, the WBO will look down its rankings and move quickly. Mercado’s name might not be next on paper, but he’s the kind of live risk that could ruin Keyshawn’s whole inheritance plan. Davis doesn’t handle tempo fighters well,  he’s smooth until someone rips his rhythm apart.

Hitchins may think waiting until Davis gets a belt gives the matchup more value, but boxing history disagrees. When fighters get hot, they outgrow each other fast. Ask Regis Prograis how long the window stays open before someone else grabs the bag.

Top Rank isn’t paying two unproven draws multi-million-dollar purses for a non-title fight in January. Not when MSG already has Teofimo vs. Shakur closing the show. Hitchins knows the numbers.

What Happens Next

If Davis wins the title path lottery and lands a belt in 2026, Hitchins will try to circle back. But by then, the division could have moved on. Matias could unify, Lopez might chase a rematch, and Davis might discover that defending is harder than inheriting.

If Hitchins keeps waiting, he risks becoming a sparring-room myth: too good to fight anyone cheap, too inactive to matter.

If Davis stumbles on the way to that title, the whole “big-money” plan collapses before the ink ever touches a contract.

The real danger isn’t losing. It’s being forgotten while waiting for perfect conditions in a business that never waits.