"He doesn't want to risk losing," Cruz told YSM Sports Media in an interview this week. "He doesn't want to risk it for the good fights, he's just taking care of himself like a baby, protecting his record."

Top Rank, who promote Davis, won last week's purse bid for Haney's proposed first title defense with an $8.55m offer. The subsequent withdrawal came as a surprise, all things considered.

Davis (15-0, 10 KOs, 1 NC) would have earned 25 percent of said bid, equating to just over $2.1m but The Ring's Mike Coppinger reported he was seeking $5m net after management fees.

Following a forgettable weight miss saw him lose the WBO 135-pound strap before a June 7 homecoming with Edwin de Los Santos, Keyshawn steadily made waves in a new division.

He scored a 12th-round stoppage win over former title challenger Jamaine Ortiz on January 31, before outboxing Nahir Albright to the tune of a wide points win in their May 16 rematch.

The 27-year-old rejected an IBF 140-pound title opportunity and insisted, two fights into his junior welterweight campaign, he'd be heading up to 147 pounds.

This week, DAZN's Chris Mannix shared that Top Rank don't owe the Olympic silver medalist another fight opportunity until May 2027 and could conceivably shelve and extend his contract as part of a tolling provision.

"I think it was 50/50, but he didn't want to take a dangerous fight," the 30-year-old continued.