Shakur Stevenson today revealed his slightly revised three-fight slate for 2025, saying he wants these fighters this year:
- Floyd Schofield: *already scheduled
- Vasily Lomachenko
- Gervonta Davis
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) defends against Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) on February 22 in Riyadh. If Shakur wins that fight, it’s unclear who his second fight will be in 2025. He’s been saying he wants to fight William Zepeda, but has changed his tune and hopes to fight Vassily Lomachenko.
Shakur’s vision
“Lomachenko and then Tank,” Shakur Stevenson told Ariel Helwani channel about who he wants to fight in 2025 after his match against Kid Austin. “Not very confident.” I think he’s scared,” Shakur said when asked how confident he was about winning the fight against Lomachenko. “I sparred him for a while and I think he’s been scared ever since.”
“And they would certainly stand in the way.” So my hopes are very low,” Shakur said of whether Top Rank would stand in the way of a fight between him and Lomachenko. “With Turkey, I think he can achieve a lot of things. I hope he can.
“Zepeda.” He’s a good fighter,” Stephenson said when asked who his second fight would be in 2025 if he fails to get Lomachenko. “I’d like to beat him too.” He’s been running away from me for a minute. So I’m a bit skeptical about that fight as well.”
I don’t know why Shakur mentions Lomachenko’s name other than to gain influence. He’s already made it clear he’s not interested in fighting a runner, especially one without a fan base outside of his hometown of Newark. If Loma fights again, it will likely be against Gervonta Davis because that’s the biggest payday he can get. He won’t waste time on Shakur, who isn’t an attraction and isn’t coming to fight.
The role of Willian
Shakur’s popularity is based on his adoption of the villain role, but he is not fun to watch and never will be. His whole thing is to use the old Mayweather’s style is hit and miss, don’t take any chances and win the rounds by getting low number of hits. Stevenson doesn’t throw many punches as he focuses on defense 90% of the time and runs away after one punch.
“He doesn’t want to share the spotlight.” When asked my name, he seems very frustrated with his feelings. He just has to live with it until he fights me,” Shakur said when asked why Gervonta Davis was upset about fighting him during the interview.
Most of the time Tank gets asked about Shakur, it’s when he’s already scheduled a fight or when he’s finished fighting someone. Interviewers veer off course, mention Shakur’s name, which is not related to the topic. Of course, this will annoy Tank because Stevenson is not relevant to what is going on. Also, Shakur doesn’t fight anyone well and never has. He looks bored in his fights. Why would a Tank want to fight that kind of fighter?
Tank: The ultimate goal
“If he feels that way, I think we should fight.” Get it off your chest. I would be very upset if that fight doesn’t happen just because it’s been my dream fight for a long time. I was ready to prove to the world who I was just by defeating him. “Yeah, I’d be a little upset, but I don’t need him,” Shakur said.
Stevenson should make his own way rather than use Tank Davis to increase his popularity. There are plenty of fighters at 135, 140, 147 and 154 that Shakur can fight to become a star. He doesn’t need Tank’s help. If he’s ambitious, why not fight these fighters: Andy Cruz, Jeron Ennis, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haynie, Virgil Ortiz, Bahram Murtazali and Serhii Bohachuk?
If Shakur was willing to risk his career, he wouldn’t need Tank Davis to give him a boost. There are plenty of fighters from 135 to 154 that Stevenson could fight to transform into a star. It takes courage, talent and willingness to engage. Shakur is lacking in all three of those categories.
1. @KidAustin11
2. @VasilLomachenko
3. @GervontaaThe hit list for 2025 is compiled from @ShakurStevenson 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hASK9bZG3h
— Matchroom Booking (@MatchroomBoking) January 14, 2025
