WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis is making waves in the division, with fans already hailing him as a future superstar. But not everyone’s buying the hype. One of his rivals isn’t just questioning Davis’ status—he’s throwing shade over an alleged pay gap between them, despite Davis holding a major world title. So, who’s out here stirring the pot?

To answer that, let’s go back a few months! Back in August 2024, reports emerged that there was a physical altercation between Davis and Emiliano Vargas during the Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov event in LA. Sources say that Vargas, along with his two brothers, squared up against Davis. This seems to have escalated the pre-existing rivalry between the pair, which was limited to trash talk before.

Fast forward to September 2024, Vargas scored an impressive 5th-round knockout over Larry Fryers. Vargas was receiving praise from ESPN commentators for this performance, but it had irked Davis, who reportedly went on a rant. Davis downplayed how good the Vargas brothers were and even challenged them to a fight.

While this back-and-forth went on throughout the rest of 2024 and 2025, it appears time hasn’t healed the difference between the two Top Rank fighters. While appearing in an interview with The Ring recently, ‘El General’ mocked Keyshawn Davis’ earnings from his fights despite being a titleholder. “Nobody really wants to rock with him,” Emiliano Vargas told The Ring. 

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“He wants to talk about this and that, but I’m making more on endorsements than he’s making in his fight purses,” Vargas added during the interview. “He’s a champ, but at the end of the day, I’m a young up-and-coming star. I know what I got, and I shouldn’t bother you. You’re the world champ. You should be all the way up here and not even worried about me.”

Davis acquired his WBO belt by producing a 4th round knockout win over fellow Olympic silver medalist Denys Berinchyk in February. However, the question is, can there be a fight between Davis and any of the Vargas brothers?

Fernando Vargas asks Keyshawn Davis to get his name up first

Fernando Vargas has made it clear that Keyshawn Davis needs to build his name before getting into a fight with one of his sons. The former champion told Fight Hype in November 2024, “Nobody knows who Keyshawn Davis is. So, he needs to get his name up.” Vargas believes his 24-year-old son, Amado Vargas, is more recognizable than the undefeated lightweight contender.

Vargas suggested that Top Rank must do something drastic to elevate Keyshawn’s profile, saying, “You’ve got to hype it up, and you have to get more known.” It’s unclear how much money Keyshawn Davis is pocketing per fight right now, but if he ever hopes to fight any of the Vargas brothers he needs to be making millions. “We’re down, but they got to be making M’s. Not hundreds of thousands of dollars. M’s.”

That said, Emiliano Vargas continues to mock Keyshawn Davis’ earnings as their rivalry intensifies. While a fight between them isn’t out of the question, when it might happen remains unclear. Do you think Davis is making less money?