Tank Davis Upcoming ‘Hit List’ Includes Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe is preparing to promote another event headlined by Gervonta Davis this Saturday, when the WBA lightweight champion takes on Frank Martin.

Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) vs. Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) will be featured on a PBC card and as the 100th championship fight night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The event, co-headlined by David Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk, airs on Prime Video and PPV.com.

Despite Davis’ fractured relationship with longtime mentor Floyd Mayweather Jr., Ellerbe is still very much involved in propelling the prizefighter’s career forward.

Davis has been a promotional free agent since knocking out Rolando “Rolly” Romero in May 2022 and fights under his own banner, GTD Promotions, on cards staged by TGB Promotions.

Davis recently revealed that he has a new six- to seven-fight deal that he claims will be bigger than the $200 million contract Mayweather signed with Showtime in 2013.

The Al Haymon-managed Davis didn’t offer additional details about his new agreement, but he said that Shakur Stevenson is listed as a future opponent.

“Trust me, Shakur is going to get that work,” Ellerbe told BoxingScene. “He’s asking for it, and he’s going to get it. It ain’t what he thinks it is. I can’t wait for it to happen. I’m not putting a timetable on a Stevenson fight, but they come to [Davis] when you’re the top dog. Tank has a hit list and a set of goals, and he’s going to give it to whoever is considered the ‘top guys’ and get them out of the way and ride off into the sunset.

“He isn’t going to be sticking around, I can guarantee you that. I wouldn’t call it early retirement, just getting through the hit list and walking away as a wealthy man at a young age. Once he wipes out the division, we will come to the conclusion that Tank is the best fighter in the entire world.”

Davis and WBC junior welterweight titleholder Stevenson have been building up a potential superfight with extended sparring matches on social media in recent weeks.

Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) will be a free agent once his Top Rank contract comes to a conclusion following his July 6 fight against Artem Harutyunyan, and he’s looking to leverage his freedom to land the legacy-defining fights he has been seeking.

Stevenson, like Martin, is a southpaw, and it appears that Davis is getting a head start in preparing accordingly for the potential slugfest. Before Davis knocked out Ryan Garcia in April 2023, he also knocked out southpaw Hector Luis Garcia in January 2023.

Another feasible fight for Davis is a scrap against former undisputed lightweight champion and current WBC junior welterweight titleholder Devin Haney (31-1, 15 KOs). 

“Devin is one of the guys on Tank’s list, too, and it will happen when the time comes. I can’t put a timetable on it,” said Ellerbe. “I’m convinced that all these guys will get an opportunity at some point. None of these guys can f*** with Tank Davis, and I will stand on that.”

A fight between Davis and Haney would likely require Haney to stay at 140 pounds for the foreseeable future. Ellerbe insists that Davis can still make 130 pounds, but for now Davis’ sole focus is on the 135-pound division as he looks to stave off the spoiler-minded Martin.

“Frank is a very good, slick fighter with good skills, athleticism, speed and solid power,” said Ellerbe. “He’s one of the top fighters in the division, who is ready to lay it all out on the line. Tank chose him, and Tank is going to stop him. Tank can do it all. He’s a complete fighter. He can box. He can bang. He has a great defense and can take a great shot. It’s going to be fireworks and a great fight. But Martin ain’t f****** with Tank, though.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.