“I’ll Drop Zepeda Fight for Tank”: Shakur Stevenson Calls Out Gervonta Davis

Shakur Stevenson says he’d drop his plans to defend his WBC lightweight title against interim champion William Zepeda next if Gervonta Davis agrees to fight him. If he says Tank has another fight he’s got planned, he’ll go ahead with the clash against Zepeda.

Fans on social media point out that Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) had a chance to fight Tank Davis before, but he blew his chance. Now, he’s got to live with his choices and take what fights he can get before he’s dethroned.

Newark Demands

It remains to be seen whether Shakur’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, can deliver him the Zepeda fight he wants because without the Saudis involved, the money needed for that fight isn’t there.

Hearn says he wants Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) to agree to fight in Shakur’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey, which is unlikely. Zepeda is too popular for him to put himself in a position where he could get robbed if the contest is close.

“If I could happen next, I’d take Tank, but the fight that already presented itself is Zepeda,” said Shakur to DAZN Boxing when asked who he wants to fight next. “If Tank says, ‘Let’s fight,’ I’ll drop that s***, and we can rumble. But if he’s got something else going on, I’ll rumble with Zepeda.

Shakur has been mentioning Tank’s name since he arrived at lightweight in 2023, but he’s made no moves to fight the kind of killers that the King of the division would take seriously.

Stevenson is using Davis’s name for promotional purposes to create fake interest in his career without taking any risky fights. We’ve consistently seen Shakur taking the easy road instead of the hard path. The one time he fought a decent opponent, Edwin De Los Santos, he ran from him for 12 rounds and was booed out of the venue at the T-Mobile.

Shakur’s Opposition at 135

– Josh Padley
– Artem Harutyunyan
– Edwin De Los Santos
– Shuichiro Yoshino

“I’ll fight in Newark. I’ll fight in Vegas. Wherever [William] Zepeda wants to fight, I’ll fight him,” said Shakur Stevenson to iFL TV about who he wants to fight next. “That’s what I want. He’s a hell of a fighter. He’s the [WBC] interim [lightweight] champion. I’m the major champion. With me being the real champion, I know he wants to be champion. So, I’m right here. Come get it.”