Eddie Hearn says he’ll try to set up unification fights for WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson against Denys Berinchyk or Vasily Lomachenko if he can’t make the mega-fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in 2025.
Top Rank will match Keyshawn Davis against WBO lightweight champion Berinchyk in early 2025. So, Berinchyk will not be available for Shakur to fight in a unification if Tank chooses not to face him. IBF champion Lomachenko is also an unlikely option for Stevenson because he’s expected to retire.
Davis Uninterested?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound promising that a Tank vs. Shakur fight will happen in 2025 without a change of attitude for the Baltimore native. Last week, Gervonta seemed disinterested in discussing a fight with Stevenson when his name was mentioned after his press conference. He didn’t want to talk about him.
Hearn signed Shakur to make a mega-fight against Tank Davis. But if he can’t land that fight for him, he’ll be scrambling to find the biggest name possible. His two-fight contract with Matchroom Boxing will expire with his potential contest against William Zepeda.
Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) is scheduled to fight Floyd Schofield on February 22nd, 2025. If he wins that, he could face Zepeda in the summer.
Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) was Shakur’s original opponent for the fight on February 22nd, but the highly ranked contender suffered a hand injury in his win over Tevin Farmer on November 16th and couldn’t take the match.
It would be a disaster for Hearn if Zepeda isn’t available to fight Shakur in 2025 or if his hand problem delays the match until later in the year. Hearn will not let Stevenson sit and wait; he’ll want to keep him busy, and that will chew up the final fight of his two-fight contract with Matchroom.
Journalist Salvador Rodriguez revealed on Wednesday that Zepeda will need “six to eight weeks” of rest before returning to training. If there are no setbacks, he would be the next challenger for Shakur.
“We can only look after our own, Shakur Stevenson, and for me, Schofield, Zepeda, Tank,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV, revealing the three fighters he wants for Shakur Stevenson in 2025.
“I think Shakur against Tank is one of the best fights in boxing. Then you have to look at unifying. There’s Berinchyk. There’s Lomachenko fight again,” said Hearn when asked who Shakur can fight if he can’t get the clash against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in 2025.
“Shakur will probably move up and try and become a four-division world champion at some point.”
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