The NABF bantamweight championship was later vacated by the federation due to Duarte's "inactivity". Dávila was matched against Gil Contreras for the belt in April 1988, with a second WBC title match against Lora promised to him if he won. After scoring an eighth-round knockdown of Contreras, Dávila narrowly won a unanimous decision; all three judges had him ahead by either one or two points. The rematch versus Lora was scheduled at the Great Western Forum for August 1. Dávila, nearly 34 at the time, was the oldest bantamweight championship participant. For the second time, Dávila lost to Lora by a judges' decision after 12 rounds. Following the fight, he announced his retirement. His final win–loss record has been given alternately as 55–10–1 and 56–10 with one no contest.