The boxing world is abuzz once again as Gervonta Davis seemingly targets Shakur Stevenson.

Last year, Tank Davis and Shakur Stevenson appeared close to finalizing a fight after the collapse of negotiations for a Vasyl Lomachenko matchup. Fans and pundits alike were optimistic about the potential showdown between the fighters, but the fight ultimately didn’t materialize. Why? Because both of them ended up taking different opponents.

However, the situation recently took a dramatic turn when Gervonta Davis accused Stevenson of avoiding the fight, claiming he had allegedly sent a contract that was ignored. In response, Stevenson wasted no time in addressing these accusations. In a clip from Shawn Porter’s ‘The PorterWay Podcast’ shared by Hassan, Stevenson responded to accusations hurled against him by Davis. The caption of the post read, “Shakur Stevenson doubles down and says Gervonta Davis is lying about sending the contract and if he did to post it 😳.”

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In the video, Shakur Stevenson was firmly denying Davis’ claims that a contract had been sent his way. In the clip, the interviewer asked, “People say they put a contract on your desk. You never signed it. I’ve heard all types of stuff.”

Stevenson, visibly confident, responded: “Somebody says they put a contract on my desk? … If he did, post it… When Tank and Lomachenko were in negotiations that shit was worldwide. It was public. Like Lomachenko said No. They publicly say, ‘Yo, Lomachenko turned down the fight. He’s a duck.’ Why didn’t that happen to me if that happened?”

Stevenson’s comments put Davis on blast, calling for tangible proof of the supposed contract. While challenging Tank to make the alleged contract public, he questioned why, if the contract was indeed sent, it wasn’t made public as was the case with the Lomachenko situation. This not only puts pressure on Davis but also places doubt on the authenticity of his claims. However, if you wonder where did all these start from, here is the answer.

The backstory of this feud goes deeper than just the recent contract allegations. Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson have long been rumored to be on a collision course, with the potential for a high-stakes showdown in the lightweight division. However, despite initial optimism, negotiations for the fight never came to fruition.

Tensions between the two fighters started to escalate when Davis accused Stevenson of dodging the fight, claiming he had sent a contract that Stevenson allegedly ignored. And a screenshot from Dantheboxingman on X only added fuel to the fire. In the screenshot, Gervonta Davis was seen commenting, “Ni***s sent him a contact he went elsewhere… get off my d**k you d**k eater.”

Stevenson, however, denied the allegations, stating emphatically that he had never received a contract. In a passionate interview with ‘Cigar Talks,’ he declared, “On my life, Tank a liar. If he sent me a contract, tell him to post that contract. Post that contract he sent me. That’s what I want to see.”

Shakur Stevenson did not stop there. He further criticized Davis’ resume, claiming that the Baltimore native has taken on less challenging opponents and used weight clauses to his advantage. “You’re taking the less talented fighters and putting them in the ring with yourself and making them look as though they are on this level, but they’re not,” Stevenson said. He also suggested that until Davis faces an elite-level fighter, he would remain uninterested in engaging in any further discussions about the rivalry.

Only time will tell if Stevenson and Davis can put their differences aside and focus on unifying the division. What do you think—Is Gervonta Davis lying about sending the contract, or is Shakur Stevenson avoiding the fight?

Shakur Stevenson insists Gervonta Davis never hurt him in sparring, despite ‘Tank’ insisting otherwise.

The American lightweight titans have been on a collision course to meet each other in the squared circle for several years now but nothing has come to fruition as of yet.

For now, the only thing boxing fans have to go off is their sparring sessions during the fledgling stages of their respective careers.

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As there is no footage of the rounds they shared on the internet, we are left with conflicting accounts of what happened.

Davis claims the last time they sparred he ‘cracked’ Stevenson and had the WBC lightweight champion running from him in the ring.

Meanwhile, Davis’ trainer Kenny Ellis affirms that Stevenson left their camp early after getting his tooth broken by his student.

When asked to set the record straight on these rumours, Stevenson told talkSPORT.com: “He’s lying, he never in his life hurt me. I’ve got a hell of a chin.

“The sparring sessions were good sparring sessions, after the last spar we had he came up to me and said ‘Bro, you have got so much better. Bro you are so good’.

“You can go back and look at clips of how he used to talk about me and then he changed.

“I’m not lying. He’s a hell of a fighter, I have got nothing to take away from him.

“But I’m a hell of a fighter myself and it was good work every time.”

Davis and Stevenson were in discussions to face each other last year in a WBA and WBC unification clash but talks subsequently fizzled out.

Stevenson is now set to square off against highly-touted prospect Floyd Schofield Jr on February 22 on the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol II undercard in Saudi Arabia while Davis is headlining a show in Brooklyn on March 1 against Lamont Roach.

Providing both men get through their upcoming clashes unscathed Stevenson is hopeful Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh can make Davis an offer he can’t refuse.

“He’s the big superstar, he’s the big name, the biggest pay-per-view superstar in the sport of boxing so with him being the biggest name and attraction it’s on him [to make it happen],” said Stevenson when asked what has to happen to get their fight over the line.

“The ball is in his court. I can’t say ‘I’m going to send him an offer’. Turki [Alalshikh] can.

“Turki has got the money, I don’t have the money to send Gervonta Davis a big enough offer.

“I don’t know why it hasn’t happened, he is a weird human being.

“I don’t have much respect for him to be honest.”

Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson match up to make one of the most intriguing style clashes in the sport.

Davis is a knockout puncher, Stevenson a defensive master. Should a fight happen soon, it would be a lightweight unification bout with two undefeated records on the line. Despite the massive intrigue, it has failed to materialise.

Fans had reason to be hopeful earlier this year when ‘Tank’ told Boxing News that Stevenson was on his hit-list for the future, but he has now seemingly had a change of heart.

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Speaking to the media at the press conference to officially announce his March 1 fight against Lamont Roach Jr, Davis was asked if he was still interested in the fight and said he gains nothing from facing his championship rival.

“For what? What has Shakur done in the sport? He hasn’t done nothing. The young ones looking better than him. Keyshawn looking way more better than this n***a. Y’all keep screaming his name, he hasn’t done nothing. F**k y’all keep saying his name for?”

Davis then dismissed the idea that some would see the move as him being ‘afraid’ of Stevenson, who returns to the ring on February 22 against Floyd Schofield.

“Afraid of what? Us fighters, if we’re afraid of somebody it gotta be somebody hitting us and hurting us. He don’t have no offence. Everything is defence. Defence only win in defence and football. That s**t don’t win in boxing.”

With the big puncher from Baltimore promising to retire at the end of 2025 after three more fights, fans will hope Shakur’s name re-enters in the mix before then.

Gervonta Davis is willing to take on Shakur Stevenson.

Davis is the current WBA lightweight champion, while Stevenson holds the WBC belt, meaning a unification fight between the two has been linked for a while.

While they may have not shared the ring yet, a heated rivalry between the two men is already present, with plenty of insults thrown back and forth.

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‘Tank’ hasn’t held back with his assessment of Stevenson, dismissing claims that it would be a tough fight for him whilst talking to Cigar Talk.

“Hell no! How is he the best? Show me something that he’s done that’s outrageous. Show me. His power isn’t outrageous and what defence? He just jumps back, you never see him slip any punches, you never see that. Go watch him, you just see him back up and move around, move around, he ain’t got no technique.

His offence is the same thing. Go look at his fights. Easy work. I touched him with 16 ounce gloves on and he ran, imagine if I hit him with eight ounce gloves.”

Davis then revealed the one thing that needs to happen in order for him to face

“Tell him to rematch Edwin De Los Santos and if he beats him we can get it on. I guarantee you he won’t fight that guy again. I guarantee it.”

Stevenson had a much criticised performance when he met De Los Santos in November 2023, claiming a narrow unanimous decision win.

Another man who has weighed into the Davis vs. Stevenson debate is William Zepeda, the current mandatory challenger for the WBC title, revealing who he deems to be the best out of the two men.

Shakur Stevenson is confident he will beat Gervonta Davis, as he eyes a fight with him next year. 

Shakur is the current WBC Lightweight Champion who is out injured after hurting his hand in sparring. It prevented his fight with Joe Cordina from going ahead on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol card. It was a massive setback since Shakur had just signed a deal with Matchroom Boxing, as it would have been his first fight under the promotional company. The aim was to beat Cordina and then set up a potential fight with William Zepeda next year, who is mandatory for his WBC belt. A win over Zepeda would have then increased the calls to make a unification with the WBA Lightweight Champion Tank Davis.

Shakur is on course to make a return early next year. Eddie Hearn recently revealed that Shakur has agreed a deal in principle with the Saudis to fight Zepeda. But that depends on Zepeda coming through his next fight against Tevin Farmer as they square off on December 16. If Zepeda beats Farmer, which he is expected to do, all that is left is for the latter to accept the deal. This is a very risky move for Shakur since Zepeda is a knockout artist. There are suggestions that Shakur should take a tune up before he considers fighting Zepeda.

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The perception around the Davis fight has been that Tank can stop Shakur, or that Stevenson will be able to outbox him. Stevenson’s resume shows he does not have the best knockout ratio: 22-0 with 10 KOs. Therefore, he will have to earn Davis’ respect, as it is very hard to see how he can keep him off by moving around for the full 12 rounds.

But Shakur is a three-weight world champion with a big win over Oscar Valdez. He also secured wins when his performances were not the best against Edward De La Santos and Artem Harutyunyan. That shows a fighter who can work out things and make adjustments even when the tide is against him. And Shakur let everybody know that he would beat Davis.

“Next year will be perfect. The fight has got to happen. There’s no way the fight don’t happen. The best vs. the best. I can’t wait for it. I’m going to win for sure. I think a lot of people will bet the other way and lose money, but the people that bet this way are going to lose money,” Shakur said 

But that all depends on whether he wins his next fight. And if it is Zepeda, Shakur has to be careful not to overlook his man. He talked up his skills before the fights against De Los Santos and Arman, which did not result in the spectacular performance that he was hoping for. Fans also booed him during the De La Santos performance as he was fighting on the back foot.

Meanwhile, some fans walked out before the final round in his win against Arman. However, Shakur’s deal with Matchroom could be the catalyst for increasing his profile. And given that Shakur is considered one of the best technically skilled boxers out there, it is only a matter of time before he racks up sufficient wins against the big names to call for that Davis fight.

Shakur Stevenson is running short of suitors.

The American fighter wants to stay active and prove his credentials and show the world he has what it takes because of his highly regarded technical skills. He had an explosive boxer in William Zepeda as an option to bolster his resume and boost his PPV star image. However, that’s not the case anymore. After screening out one more legend of the boxing world, the WBC lightweight has finally had his pick.

‘Sugar’ went on a rant when he admitted that his fight with Zepeda, 28, wasn’t in the works anymore. He also admitted that he had approached Vasyl Lomachenko, but the IBF champion declined the shot at unification. Stevenson, at 22-0, revealed in one of the posts, “Loma just recently said no Again.”

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He then stressed the fighters’ agency to take the fights, cutting across the promotions, and continued, “whatever gone get me paid the most and make the most sense I’m down!” This came after Stevenson, 27, had turned to his social media handle and disclosed that Zepeda had pushed back the date. It was already clear thatOscar De La Hoya and Zepeda, at 31-0, had other options too, and it could be a stylistically tough fight for the latter. So, Golden Boy Promotions and Zepeda pushed the fight. But the fight was still on and since he wanted to stay active in between, Stevenson picked up Joe Cordina.

The lightweight champion wrote in one post, “Zepeda pushed it back The fight will happen in February.” In another separate post, he pointed out the past weight cut issues of Cordina, 32, but praised him as a fighter and again highlighted Zepeda’s reluctance to take up the fight. Stevenson added, “Zepeda don’t want to fight just yet so whoever it is gone be they gone get this work.”

Zepeda pushed it back The fight will happen in February https://t.co/rVIFsdxibb

— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) August 16, 2024

This development might come as a blow to Stevenson’s fans, who wanted him to exchange punches with an aggressive fighter. The 2016 Olympics medalist first chased a fight with Gervonta Davis and then made peace with Zepeda as an alternative. But with the Mexican fighter out of frame, he is again back to square one. But all is not lost.

Eddie Hearn recently laid down the path for Stevenson to bag the ‘Tank’ fight. And it goes through Zepeda. It would adjust him to an aggressive and volume punching style and help set up the fight with Davis. He told Cigar Talks, “If I’m Shakur, I chase the [William Zepeda] fight. I keep building my brand into the ‘Tank’ fight next year.”

It remains to be seen whether it happens or not, as Stevenson is still avoided at 135. While he is coming off a win against Artem Harutyunyan, it wasn’t a comprehensive win. He has the uphill task of stacking up the resume and ironing out his orthodox and technical style with some flair.

It almost became reality—well, almost.

One of the biggest fights in the boxing world, Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson, has attracted eyeballs and heated debates about who is the better boxer. And the fans had it for a while, as the rumors of the fight happening had them excited. However, that was it. Boxing insider Dan Rafael had to dismiss the circulating rumors and jolt the fans.

The news of a unification fight between two champions had the internet buzzing. Two undefeated records, two fighters with contrasting fighting styles, and two gold straps—the fight has every ingredient to make it a PPV blockbuster. You add to the mix their intense rivalry and you have a mouth-watering event. So, when a channel posted about a done deal about the two having a go at each other on November 23, the fans were swept off their feet. But not for long.

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Rafael took to his X handle and wrote, “I’m told by two people who would be involved that this is not true.” In a following post, the American sportswriter reconfirmed his stance and declared, “I asked a third source just now who would be directly involved if it was true and the response was “not at all”.”

I asked a third source just now who would be directly involved if it was true and the response was “not at all.” https://t.co/YuYDghI2a8

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) July 30, 2024

Stevenson, 27, also had to address the rumors, as he promptly addressed the whispers of him facing ‘Tank’ next. He announced, “This is FAKE!!” Interestingly, he is already working behind the scenes to put pen to paper for a new fight. Who is his opponent?

According to BoxingScene, Stevenson, at 22-0, has zeroed in on William Zepeda. The 28-year-old is an explosive fighter with devastating knockout power. It will be a fight that pits a technically gifted Stevenson against a power puncher in Zepeda. In addition, ‘Sugar’ is in free agency, making it easier for Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy to ink a deal.

Davis, 29, on the other side, is waiting on his next opponent. While his fight with Vasyl Lomachenko couldn’t materialize, he has another champion waiting for him. Isaac Cruz wants to run it back against the Baltimore native and exact revenge for the loss in 2021. But will that happen? The fans have to wait because the champions at 140 are ready to walk the unification route.

After analyst, Stephen A. Smith prioritized Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson over ‘Tank’ vs. Vasyl Lomachenko, Kenny Ellis, one of Davis’ trainers, echoed Smith and announced ‘Tank’ would face Shakur first in the ring.

Taking to Instagram, Ellis announced that Lomachenko would “step aside” for the time being and fight the winner of Shakur Stevenson vs. Gervonta Davis in 2025. Here, as Davis’ name is being linked to stars like Lomachenko and Shakur, ShowBizz the Adult believes the party is just getting started for ‘Tank’!

As per ShowBizz the Adult, even though Gervonta Davis has had 30 professional fights since his debut, it seems like ‘Tank’ has yet to expose his true potential to the public. This is something that makes Davis different from his contemporaries. So, in ShowBizz the Adult’s opinion, a fight against two-time Olympic gold medalist and current IBF Lightweight champion, Vasyl Lomachenko is essential to the growth of Davis’ resume.

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“Gevonta Davis is talking about fighting Lomanchenko [and] I’m very high on that fight. But a lot of you guys would prefer ‘Tank’ vs. Shakur and prefer ‘Tank’ vs. ‘Pitbull’. And you know what that means? That Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis has left a lot on his plate,” began ShowBizz the Adult.

Welcome Gervonta Davis era #tankdavis #teofimolopez #devinhaney
Do you have the same feeling? Has Tank Davis been lacking in his career? pic.twitter.com/AAnEv7e6K1

— ShowBizzAdult (@BizzAdult) July 9, 2024

“I do like Gervonta’s resume. But, it feels like his career is just starting,” he added. According to him, one cannot feel the same about Devin Haney and Teofmio Lopez. “[But] for some reason, you get the feeling that we’re just introducing Gervonta – it’s almost like his career is just starting. There’s a lot on the damn plate other than beating Ryan Garcia,” ShowBizz the Adult concluded.

But, can Vasyl Lomachenko test Gervonta Davis aptly? What do experts think?

Just when we started talking about Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gervonta Davis, analyst, Stephen A. Smith claimed that the Ukrainian boxer was deficient in power. And according to Smith, “if you can’t punch with power,” you do not have a chance against Gervonta Davis. So, while Smith acknowledged Lomachenko’s intelligence and skills, he was unsure about the latter’s fate against ‘Tank.’ But, Shakur Stevenson felt otherwise.

As per Shakur’s understanding, although Lomachenko is about to exit his prime, the Ukrainian boxer is “no pushover.” “With the experience he’s got and the knowledge, I think it could be a tremendous fight,” Stevenson had said. And echoing Shakur, CEO of Top Rank,Bob Arum had declared, “We’re up for that fight [Davis]. Lomachenko’s up for that.” In Arum’s opinion, Lomachenko vs. Davis has the potential to exceed Davis vs. Shakur as far as financial gain was concerned.