Shakur Stevenson today revealed his slightly altered three-fight hit list for 2025 and said 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 match of 2025 will be. He said he wanted to fight William Zepeda, but he’s changed his tune and hopes to fight Vasily Lomachenko.
Shakur’s vision
“Lomachenko and then Tank,” Shakur Stevenson told the Ariel Helwani channel on 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 certain he is of getting a fight against Lomachenko. “I spared him a while back, and I think he’s been scared ever since.
“They will certainly also stand in the way. So, my hopes are very low,” Shakur said about whether Top Rank would stand in the way of a fight between him and Lomachenko. “With Turki, I think he can make a lot of things happen. Hopefully he can.
“Zepeda. He’s a good fighter,” Stevenson said when asked who his second fight would be in 2025 if he can’t get Lomachenko. “I would also like to beat him. He’s been running away from me for a minute. So, I’m quite 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 fans outside of his hometown of Newark. If Loma does fight again, it will likely be against Gervonta Davis because that’s the biggest payday he could get. He won’t waste time on Shakur, who isn’t a draw and isn’t coming to fight.
The Villian Role
Shakur’s popularity is based on his adoption of the villain role, but he is not entertaining to watch and never will be. His whole thing is to use the guy Mayweather hit-and-miss style, don’t take risks, and win rounds by landing a small number of pot shots. Stevenson doesn’t throw many punches as he focuses 90% of the time on defense and escapes after throwing a single shot.
“He doesn’t want to share the spotlight. When my name is asked, he seems to get very frustrated in his feelings. He just has to live with it until he fights me,” Shakur said when asked why Gervonta Davis gets upset about fighting him during interviews.
A lot of the time when Tank is asked about Shakur it’s when he’s already scheduled a fight or when he’s done fighting someone. The interviewers veer off course and mention Shakur’s name, which is off topic. Of course, this will annoy Tank because Stevenson is not relevant to what is happening. Nor does Shakur fight anyone good and never has. He looks boring in his fights. Why would Tank want to fight that kind of fighter?
Tank: The ultimate goal
“If he feels that way, I feel we should fight. Get it off your chest. I will be very upset if that fight doesn’t happen just because it has been my dream fight for a long time. I was ready to prove to the world who I was just by beating him. Yeah, I’d be pretty upset, but I don’t need him,” Shakur said.
Stevenson should cut his 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 take on these fighters: Andy Cruz, Jaron Ennis, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Vergil Ortiz, Bakhram Murtazaliev and Serhii Bohachuk?
If Shakur was willing to take risks with his career, he wouldn’t need Tank Davis to give him a boost. There are plenty of fighters at 135 to 154 that Stevenson could fight to turn himself into a star. It takes courage, talent and a willingness to get involved. Shakur is lacking in all three of those categories.
1. @KidAustin11
2. @VasylLomachenko
3. @GervontaaThe hit list for 2025 is laid out by @ShakurStevenson 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hASQ9bZG3h
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 14, 2025
