Shakur Stevenson predicts that he will “put on a show” in the title defense of his WBC lightweight title against Floyd Schofield on February 22nd in Riyadh. Shakur also says he doesn’t need Gervonta Davis, and he’s not chasing him. That’s a laugh.
Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) wants to “make a statement” to the Saudis and all the fans who will be watching the event at home on DAZN PPV. He’s likely to get fans angry and have them booing by the fourth round due to his movement.
“I’m Too Smart”
“It’s a familiar face to the fans. People know him a little bit. It’s going to be a fun fight,” said Shakur Stevenson to Fight Hub TV, talking about his title defense against Floyd Schofield Jr. on February 22nd. “It’s a motivated kid. He wants to take my spot. He’s trying to take my crown.
“When you’re fighting a young, hungry lion, that’s a lot to deal with in itself. I remember being that age myself. I wanted to win a world title so bad. I worked super extremely hard. I’m expecting him to be the same way.
“My experience. I got too much experience for him. I’m too smart. I’m going to take him to a level he’s never been at before,” said Shakur about Schofield. “I’m a name on the card. I’m going to put on a show. Kid Schofield is just in the way. You better be very focused.”
Schofield is going to make Shakur look bad by pressuring him and hitting him hard whenever he gets near enough to connect. Stevenson is going to be forced to run like he did against Edwin De Los Santos, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Saudi crowd boos him. They’re polite people, but Stevenson might anger them enough with his running to get them to boo him out of the ring.
“I Don’t Need Him”
“If he’s going to retire with the career that he got, then go ahead and do what you got to do. I disagree with it. I think it’s soft, but that’s him,” said Stevenson about Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis saying he’s going to retire after 2025.
Tank has nothing to gain in fighting Shakur because he’s not popular. If Stevenson had the popularity of Ryan Garcia, Tank would have fought him a long time ago. He’s not. Shakir’s boring fighting style has gotten in the way of him becoming popular, and now he’s getting up there in age. He’s going to have to move up soon.
“I ain’t into chasing people around. If he’s willing to fight, I’m ready to fight. It should happen, but I can’t sit there and chase you, and then he’s going to make it seem like I need him. I don’t need him,” said Shakur about him not needing Tank Davis.
Who is he kidding? Shakur has been chasing Tank Davis since he moved up to 135 in 2023. In numerous interviews, Shakur has mentioned Gervonta’s name, saying he wants to fight him and sounding utterly desperate. He’s sounded lovesick for the Tank fight.
Stevenson’s career depends on that fight, and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, has been talking nonstop about wanting to make the Tank-Shakur fight. That could be the chief reason Hearn signed Shakur, as a fight between him and Tank would bring in a lot of money.
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