Shakur Stevenson’s decision to defend his WBC lightweight title against the unheralded Joe Cordina next is believed to be a strategy to boost his plummeting stock to put him in a better position to negotiate a lucrative unification fight against WBA champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis for next year.
Using Cordina, 32, as a tool to weasel a better deal against Tank Davis is doomed. It will backfire because of the tremendous backlash that has erupted over this pick. This is as low as you can get.
Handpicking from the 130-lb Division
It’s seen as a low move by Shakur to raid the 130-lb division, hand-picking a fighter who was not only knocked out in his previous fight but completely dominated the entire fight by Anthony Cacace last May. Cordina was out of his league in that fight, getting hammered by the faster, busier, and more skilled Cacace.
Shakur should have picked these fighters:
– William Zepeda
– Abdullah Mason
– Raymond Muratalla
– Andy Cruz
– Keyshawn Davis: *Set friendship aside for the sweet cash
Under the current situation, Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) is coming off two consecutive terrible performances against Artem Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos, and he’s not in the position to negotiate a favorable deal. Hence, he’s selected the non-lightweight Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) to make himself look good.
Shakur should look like a pure 24k gold against Cordina, who was never that good but skillfully maneuvered by his promoter, Eddie Hearn, into capturing the IBF against Kenichi Ogawa in 2022.
Zepeda: The True Test
For Shakur to get a better financial deal against Tank Davis, it will require a win over #1 William Zepeda in 2025. Cordina is a pure waste of time. Zepeda will likely beat Shakur unless we see another track and field meet like we witnessed in Shakur’s questionable win over Edwin De Los Santos last November in Las Vegas.
Shakur can’t afford to turn in another performance like that if he wants to boost his stock to negotiate a fight against Tank Davis on favorable terms.
If Shakur looks bad in winning efforts against Zepeda and Cordina, he must continue scaring up the game in the brush to fight someone he can beat and look good against. Otherwise, he’s not going to get the 50-50 split that he’s hoping for against Tank Davis if he continues to turn in timid performances.
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