Shakur Stevenson said today that 2025 will be his “greatest year ever,” which suggests that he believes he’ll finally get a chance to fight Gervonta Davis.
Stevenson’s brittle hands could wreck any chance of 2025 being the greatest for him, and it could be his worst year. He’s coming off hand surgery, and he’s been having problems with his hands for a while now. It’s almost like they’re made of glass and not designed for fighting at 135.
2025 Fights
He had to have seen his promoter Eddie Hearn’s interview today in which he said Shakur would fight these three in 2025:
- Floyd Schofield: *Already set for February 22nd
- William Zepeda: Tentative
- Gervonta Davis: Will require a huge offer from His Excellency.
That may not happen, though, and he’ll have to settle for whoever Hearn can scrape up for him. If Tank and Zepeda refuse, Hearn may have to find whoever he can. He’s got a keen eye for scouring the landscape, and there are possibilities as long as Shakur is open-minded.
Andy Cruz and Richardson Hitchin would be excellent options if Tank or Zepeda chose not to fight Stevenson. It would help if Shakur were willing to move up to 140 for a fight because there are endless possibilities in that weight class.
The New Jersey native is big enough to compete at light welterweight, but he’s underpowered for that weight class. Even at 126, Shakur lacked power and had to settle for decision wins.
Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) must entertain the fans with his title defense against Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) on February 22nd. That fight will be one that will be widely watched by the other promoters of the stars, who will decide whether they feel that Stevenson is worthy of matching their fighters against him.
In Shakur’s last two fights against Artem Harutyunyan and William Zepeda, people saw that he was not worth it for Zepeda or Tank to fight him. Stevenson was booed out of both those fights, and the fans were heading towards the exit, not wanting to watch him run around the ring.
Stevenson is closing in on 28; usually, fighters cannot change their style by that age. If they’re a runner, they can’t magically transform themselves with training and willpower to become entertaining. They are what they are at that point.
Shakur’s Prediction
2025 will be my GREATEST YEAR EVER!! https://t.co/vgg8lgqgsW
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) December 12, 2024
“Shakur is taking it personally because they’re in competition with each other in performances,” said coach Greg Hackett to YSM Sports Media about Shakur Stevenson getting upset reacting to Tank Davis saying he’s achieved “Nothing” during his pro career.
“Tank is giving people what they want [knockouts]. So, Shakur is getting upset. ‘You really think you can beat me just because you’re knocking those guys out?’ Tank is like, ‘What are you doing? You’re over there talking about fighting me. You can’t even get rid of them. I’m putting these guys asleep.’ Tank is over there having a ball right now.”
“Kid Austin is not ready for Shakur Stevenson. Shakur is a master boxer. He’s a lot sharper than my boy. I like Kid Austin, don’t get me wrong,” said Bullet Cromwell to YSM Sports Media, saying Floyd Schofield isn’t ready for Shakur Stevenson in their fight on February 22nd.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh would have to make them an offer they can’t refuse to get them to agree to a fight with Stevenson if they’re reluctant to deal with the running and the booing from the fans. With all the lightweights in the division, why would Turki waste money on Shakur when he could set up more compelling matchups involving these fighters facing Tank or Zepeda:
– Edwin De Los Santos
– Raymond Muratalla
– Abdullah Mason
– Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez
– Emanuel Navarrete
– Isaac Cruz
– Keyshawn Davis
“Shakur is an Olympic silver medalist. He should have been a gold medalist. When you look at the styles, he’s not going to catch Shakur with nothing. The fight that I want to see is Shakur and Tank. If I don’t see that, I don’t care to watch him fight anybody,” said Cromwell.
“Tank won’t be able to touch Shakur with certain things, and Shakur can’t afford to be hit by Tank.
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