Keyshawn Davis Looks Past Edwin De Los Santos, Urging Turki Alalshikh to Broker a Showdown with Teofimo Lopez After Champion’s Racist Outburst

Keyshawn Davis is already looking past his next opponent, Edwin De Los Santos, wanting Turki Alalshikh to set up a fight against Teofimo Lopez. The WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn (13-0, 9 KOs) says he wants to put Teo in “his place” after the racist terms he used for his callout of Terence Crawford today.

(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)

The Top Rank-promoted Davis says that “after” he beats De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs), he wants Turki to match him against Teofimo (23-1, 13 KOs). It’s unlikely that Turki will choose to make that move because Lopez and his dad, Teofimo Sr., would surely veto the idea. They both want the Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis fight at 147 next. That’s the one that would pay better than Keyshaw, who isn’t well known due to his young career, and the low-quality opposition Top Rank has fed him.

“Villain” Act

Teofimo, 27, appears to be adopting the villain persona to create artificial interest in his career. He’s tried playing the nice guy character role, but it’s gotten him nowhere. Also, the soft matchmaking and his erratic performances have kept him from gaining more popularity.

The knockouts Teofimo used to pile up at 135 have disappeared since moving up to 140 in 2022. Of his six fights, he’s only since out one fighter, Pedro Campa, since moving up to light welterweight three years ago. Fans like knockouts, and Lopez can’t deliver. The power isn’t there at 140.

It’s a mistake for Keyshawn to look past his opponent, De Los Santos, because this guy hits too hard for him to be seen as an easy out. While he hasn’t fought in two years and is coming off a loss to Shakur Stevenson in 2023, he’s still young at 26, and he hits harder than Keyshawn. He’s not a welterweight-sized lightweight like Keyshawn. De Los Santos is a true 135-pounder, and not killing himself to make weight to have an advantage over the smaller fighters.

Keyshawn should fight Andy Cruz next, rather than chasing an unattainable fight against Teofimo. The Cuban 2020 Olympic gold medalist, Cruz, beat Keyshawn four times in the amateurs and holds a 4-0 record against him. This makes Davis look afraid he won’t accept Cruz’s repeated challenges.