Shakur Stevenson is set to face Josh Padley this weekend in Saudi Arabia, but his promoter, Eddie Hearn, already has his sights set on a much bigger fight.
Originally, Stevenson was scheduled to take on Floyd Schofield Jr., but the unbeaten fighter had to withdraw after claiming he was ‘poisoned.’ As a result, Padley stepped up on short notice to take the fight. While the matchup against Padley is still important, Hearn made it clear that there’s only one real fight that needs to happen next, Shakur Stevenson vs. Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
In an interview, Hearn essentially lobbied for the fight with Turki Alalshikh, saying if he wanted to make the matchup, he really could.
“You wanna see them two in together. So get through Saturday night, let’s just make it happen, Tank vs. Shakur, it’s the best fight in boxing. And on we go.”, Hearn added.
‼️Eddie Hearn said after Shakur Stevensons fight on Saturday they are focused on making the Gervonta Davis fight no more waiting around‼️
:@heyitsmarcosv pic.twitter.com/2og4o5zohH— Hassan (@Hassanwellss) February 20, 2025
Hearn does have a point here. If there is public interest in a match-up, Alalshikh has been rather active in getting it organized. After all, for years Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford couldn’t get on the same page and then Alalshikh stepped in and made it happen.
With Stevenson’s elite technical skills and Davis’ explosive knockout power, the matchup has the makings of an instant classic. And there is a consensus amongst laymen, enthusiasts, and experts alike that the pair must fight!
Besides, both fighters are undefeated, and a fight of this magnitude would likely determine the best lightweight in the world with the WBC and WBA belts on the line. It seems Stevenson himself is angling to make it happen.
Ahead of his fight with Padley, ‘Outlaw‘ has already started talking trash about ‘Tank’ and believes his legacy isn’t that great.
Stevenson questions Davis’ clauses
The rivalry between Stevenson and Davis has been simmering for years, with both fighters trading verbal jabs. However, with the chances of the pair fighting increasing every single day, Stevenson has decided to take a shot at Davis’ legacy.
It should be noted that Davis has long claimed to be retiring from this sport by the end of this year. With just 3 fights left in the tank, Davis’ legacy has become a subject of discussion. So to say, he doesn’t respect that legacy, seems like a call out more than anything else.
In an interview with Charlie Parsons from ‘The Stomping Ground,’ Stevenson questioned the rehydration ‘clauses’ in Davis’s fighting contracts. “I get it, though. I understand it because he’s smaller than certain guys, so he has to do these things for the advantage”, he said with a hint of benevolent condescension.
Right after this, he got to the point and added, “As far as fighting me, I think me and him could be the biggest fight in the world. So I think it’s gotta happen, but it’s all up to him.”
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The back-and-forth between the two elite fighters has only fueled fan anticipation. Last year, Davis called Stevenson an “easy fight,” to which Stevenson responded by warning that ‘Tank’ was in for a “rude awakening.”
With all the trash talk and tension building up, the only question now is—will this fight finally happen?
