Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson is a fight that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh said he wants to try to make in 2025. Turki remarked on Tank’s past social media comments, asking for two Ferraris before considering being on one of his events.
(Credit: Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions)
Turki noted that he pays some fighters a lot more than the cost of two Ferraris, but if that’s what it takes to get him to agree to the fight, he will do that for him.
Tank Davis sounded off negatively during Tuesday’s press conference, saying that Shakur has done “Nothing in the sport” and doesn’t want to fight him or Keyshawn Davis. The three fighters that Tank does want to fight in 2025 are these lucky ones:
– Ryan Garcia
– Vasily Lomachenko
– Devin Haney
If Gervonta has decided that he only wants to fight those three before retiring at the end of 2025, there’s not much Turki can do about it but accept his decision. But Tank has a price in his head that if Alalshikh meets it, he’ll agree to fight Shakur as long as he doesn’t ask for crazy money.
Turki’s Offer
Turki said on Tuesday that he wants Shakur to fight Floyd Schofield on February 22nd, William Zepeda, and then Tank Davis in that order.
“My plan for Shakur is this fight, then William Zepeda, and then let’s see if Tank wants to be in our show,” said Turki to Ariel Helwani’s site on YouTube.
If Tank Davis fights Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia in 2025, he wouldn’t need Shakur because those two matches would likely be bigger. Stevenson is not popular with casual boxing fans. He has a fan base, but it’s not a giant one.
Outdated Style
These fans like watching his defensive style, which is rare in this era. They enjoy watching the old, outdated Mayweather style of hit-and-not-get-hit approach. That fighting style doesn’t work in this era with competition from the UFC, other sports, social media, and cable television.
To enjoy watching Shakur, you have to be a minimalist who is happy with fighters who are not engaging and use movement for 12 rounds. There are not enough of those types of fans in the U.S. market; hence, Shakur’s recent fights have been booed.
There are too many distractions for fans now, and fighters who use the fencing style that Mayweather was famous for are boring; they don’t gain a following now. Shakur doesn’t belong in this era. His Excellency has the money to overpay Shakur and whoever he wants him to fight, but that doesn’t mean he will become a star.
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