Top Rank promoter Bob Arum clarified on Friday that there had been zero negotiations between his company and PBC to make a unification fight between WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and WBA ‘regular’ champ Gervonta Davis.
Arum points out that Shakur’s contract with Top Rank ends with his fight on July 6th against Artem Harutyunyan. He says if Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs) exptends his contract, he’s got some “interesting fights” for him.
Shakur hasn’t said which company he would sign with if he leaves Top Rank, but recently, he has been laying it on thick, complimenting PBC, the management for Tank Davis. Some believe that could be Stevenson’s way of improving his chances of that fight happening with Tank.
If Shakur signs with Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, they would have possible fights available for him against Devin Haney, Andy Cruz, and Subriel Matias. Haney is the only one who would give Shakur a big payday, and it’s not a sure thing that a fight would happen if he inked with Matchroom.
Shakur’s Contract Status
“No, we haven’t talked to the PBC about Gervonta Davis because of Shakur’s contract with us. So, we’re going to see if they’re going to do an extension with us, and then we’re certainly happy to talk to them about Gervonta Davis,” said promoter Bob Arum to Fighthype when asked if he was going to try and put a fight together between WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and WBA ‘regular’ champ Gervonta Davis.
If Shakur were to extend his contract with Top Rank, there would be potential fights against these guys:
– Vasily Lomachenko
– Emanuel Navarrete
– George Kambosos Jr.
– Abdullah Mason
None of those fights would give Shakur the big payday that he would get if he fought Tank Davis with PBC. If Shakur is just interested in getting a big payday, going to PBC for a one or two-fight deal might work. It’s doubtful that PBC would agree to let Shakur fight Tank Davis unless he signed a long-term deal.
“Shakur will now be a free agent after his July 6th fight [against Artem Harutyunyan]. At that particular point, we have to know what his plans are before we can make any commitments with him because we may not be his promoter,” said Arum.
Promising Fights on the Horizon
“If he does resign, we have some really interesting fights for him, but I’m not going to go into that because right now, he’s a free agent after July 6th. He’s been a great fighter. We’ve enjoyed promoting him, and we’ll see what happens down the line,” said Arum about Shakur.
Arum doesn’t say what promising fights he has for Shakur, but Lomachenko and Navarrette would be the two most likely ones. If Shajur were willing to move up to 140, there would be Teofimo Lopez.
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