Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson is a fight that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has said he wants to try to do in 2025. Turki commented on Tank’s previous social media comments and asked for two Ferraris before considering being at one of his events.
(Credit: Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions)
Turki noted that he pays some fighters far more than the cost of two Ferraris, but if that’s what it takes to get him to agree to the fight, he’ll do it for him.
Tank Davis sounded negative during Tuesday’s press conference, saying Shakur has done “nothing in the sport” and doesn’t want to fight him or Keyshawn Davis. The three fighters that Tank does want to fight in 2025 are these lucky ones:
– Ryan Garcia
– Vasily Lomachenko
– Devin Haney
If Gervonta has decided that he only wants to fight those three before he retires at the end of 2025, there is not much Turki can do about it but accept his decision. But Tank has a price in his head that if Alalshikh lives up to it, he will agree to fight Shakur as long as he doesn’t charge crazy money.
Turki’s offer
Turki said Tuesday he wants Shakur to fight Floyd Schofield on Feb. 22, William Zepeda, and then Tank Davis in that order.
“My plan for Shakur is this fight, then William Zepeda, and then we’ll see if Tank wants to be in our show,” Turki told Ariel Helwani’s website on YouTube.
If Tank Davis fights Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia in 2025, he won’t need Shakur because those two matchups will likely be bigger. Stevenson is not popular with casual boxing fans. He has a fan base, but it’s not a huge one.
Outdated style
These fans love to watch his defensive style, which is rare in this era. They enjoy watching the old, outdated Mayweather style of hit-and-don’t-hit approach. That fighting style doesn’t work in this era of competition from the UFC, other sports, social media and cable television.
To enjoy watching Shakur, you have to be a minimalist who is happy with fighters not engaging and using movement for 12 rounds. There aren’t enough of those types of fans in the US market; that’s why Shakur’s recent fights have been booed.
There is too many distractions to fans now, and fighters using the fencing style that Mayweather was known for is boring; they don’t get a following now. Shakur doesn’t belong in this era. His Excellency has the money to overpay Shakur and whoever he wants, but that doesn’t mean he will become a star.
