Gervonta Davis’ assistant coach, Kenny Ellis, taunted Shakur Stevenson on Instagram today about him defending his WBC lightweight title against Joe Cordina next on October 12th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Kenny Ellis Mocks Shakur’s “Huge” Fight
Kenny mocked the Shakur vs. Cordina fight, calling it “huge” and urging fans to get their tickets quickly. Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) has already received a lot of criticism from boxing fans for choosing Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) for several reasons.
Why the Backlash?
- Cordina is coming off a knockout loss
- Never fought at 135
- Domestic level
- No demand for the fight: This fight has zero public interest.
- U.S fans unfamiliar with Cordina: Even hardcore U.S boxing fans aren’t familiar with Cordina
Shakur vs. Cordina is an odd fight to place as the co-feature on the prestigious Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol event at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. Adding Shakur-Cordina to that card is like adding a plate of liver to a sirloin steak meal. It doesn’t go well.
“Huge fight coming up: Shakur Stevenson vs. Joe Cordina. Get your tickets now,” said coach Kenny Ellis on Instagram.
Misguided Star-Building?
Shakur is going about it wrong, trying to become a star and build himself up for a fight against Tank Davis. He wants to increase his popularity because his stock has dropped off due to his recent lackluster performances against Artem Harutyunyan and Edwin De Lo Santos.
Shakur will not gain anything by beating the 32-year-old former IBF super featherweight champion Cordina because of a recent eighth-round knockout loss to Anthony Cacace on May 18th.
No matter how well Shakur dominates Cordina, it won’t be on the level of Cacace, who is all over him in that fight, throwing nonstop punches and beating the living daylights out of him. Shakur doesn’t fight like that and will likely box his way to a twelve-round decision.
Cordina hits too hard for Shakur to risk fighting the way Anthony Cacace did. He’s not as brave as him. Cacace took some big shots in that fight for the price of knocking out Cordina in the 8th, and Shakur is too risk-averse to fight like that.
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