Coach Andre Rozier questions whether Shakur Stevenson can come back from his recent right hand injury to be the fighter he used to be, and he doesn’t know if he can handle a guy like Gervonta Davis.
To have any chance against WBA lightweight champion Tank, fighters must be 100%, hit with power and not fall to the floor in pain after taking a punch. Shakur has nothing to fight against.
He can’t win a decision, just throws jabs, weak right hands and runs around the ring. The judges gave Shakur a gift in his fight with Edwin De Los Santos, but he can’t expect similar special treatment against talents like Tank.
That could happen to Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) as he has had hand issues since moving up to 135 last year. That’s why he struggled against Edwin De Los Santos in November last year, and the same problem caused his Oct. 12 defense against Joe Cordina to be canceled.
Once fighters start having hand problems, it becomes a career-long thing. They cannot a bionic hand surgically attached. Shakur has never had any power, even when healthy, but with his hand issues, at 135, he’s going to be at the mercy of Tank and the other killers, just waiting to ruin him.
“I’m 100% Gervonta Davis, and I think he’s the toughest job of anybody at 135,” coach Andre Rozier said. Pro Boxing Fans. “He has the innate combination of power, accuracy and precision, and he is very economical with his attacks.
“When he gets going and gets you in trouble, it’s a wrap. I’m always Team Gervonta Davis, and I think he’ll reign for a very long time. We don’t know what we’re going to get out of Shakur. He is coming back from a hand injury. So, we don’t know.
“He is a talented fighter. He knows how to control range and distance. We need to know if he still has the ability to do it with his hands. We have to see how that injury heals, and then I can tell you more about him,” Rozier said.
Shakur might be fine if he selectively matches the way his new promoter, Eddie Hearn, has in mind for him by putting him in against Joe Cordina, a fighter who was knocked out in his previous fight and looks washed out. If Shakur fights Tank, De Los Santos, Andy Cruz or Raymond Muratalla, it could be over for him.
Shakur doesn’t mention those guys. He wants to fight William Zepeda, and Floyd Schofield and George Kambosos Jr. fight, because he has already made them bigger. He feels confident that he can beat them, and he probably can, but it won’t be easy if he’s operating at 50% capacity as a one-handed fighter.
Fighting Muratalla, Tank, De Los Santos or Cruz would be the end for him. Hearn couldn’t get rid of Shakur quickly once he lost to one or two of those guys. He’s not going to put himself through the same expensive four-fight rebuild that he did with Anthony Joshua. It costs too much, and those problems will still be there for Shakur once he gets off the four tomato can diet.
“That’s one of the keys,” Rozier said when told Shakur would have to hold Tank Davis off him for 12 rounds. “Now, you’re talking about two of the best lightweights. There are pros and cons, but I think when they get together, it’s going to be a fantastic fight.”
Shakur couldn’t keep Tank Davis off him when he was in the picture of health, as he did when he turned pro in 2017 after his crying episode at the Olympics. Tank is too powerful and will run through his shots just like Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez did in the finals of the 2016 Olympics.
“It’s almost reminiscent of the days of Sugar Ray Leonard, Duran, Tommy Hearns. These guys are so talented that you don’t know what direction you want to go there. But I think when they do get in there, I think everybody’s going to really enjoy what’s happening,” Rozier said.
