Andy Cruz expects WBO lightweight champion and amateur rival Keyshawn Davis to hand over his belt to him “sooner rather than later.”

Not so fast, says Davis.

“I'm not moving past the Cruz situation because I definitely do want to fight him before I eventually go to 140 pounds,” Davis told The Ring in an interview. “It's just probably not going to be this year unless he does something extraordinary and it makes sense. I don't see him going to 140. I'm big.”

Cruz, 29, a 2020 Cuban Olympic gold medalist who is undefeated in four amateur fights against Davis, is undefeated in five fights since turning pro in 2023. In January, Cruz outpointed Omar Salcido via unanimous decision.

Davis, 26, has progressed further than Cruz since turning pro in 2021. Over the last 12 months, Davis has bested Denys Berinchyk for the title he now holds as well as Gustavo Lemos, Miguel Madueno, and Jose Pedraza.

In December, Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) expanded on how Cruz needs to better build his profile to get a crack at him.

“The ball is in their court,” Davis told The Ring at the time. “We're waiting on them. We already sent them a contract. I got on a live video call with Eddie Hearn and told him to set up the fight. I don't know what more y'all want me to do. I tried to fight him when I was a co-main event fighter. Now I'm a main event fighter. I can fight him now as a main event. If I send him a contract, are they going to sign it? I don't f------ know. At the end of the day, I'm going for a world title and the biggest fights out there. He is one of the biggest fights out there that I do want to f------ fight, like, next fight type of sh!t. But I'm not going to entertain something that they’re not f------ ready yet …He's not ready yet. He doesn't even have a f------ fan base. His entire fanbase is built around me.”

Davis is ranked No. 3 by The Ring at 135 pounds, Cruz is rated No. 7.