By Sam Volz: Fans need to forget about a fight between Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson taking place anytime soon because it won’t happen.
By the time we do see this fight, Tank could be washed up; skills eroded from fighting lesser opposition and wealthy to the point where he’s lost the ambition to work hard.
Max Kellerman and Tim Bradley both see the Tank vs. Shakur fight not happening because of network & promotional issues.
Kellerman points out that Tank Davis’ adviser Al Haymon tends to only make fights involving his fighters where the outcome is assured, as we saw last Saturday with Gervonta fighting the prospect Ryan Garcia, who had no experience against the elite, A or B-level opposition during his career.
Tank vs. Shakur not happening yet
“To me, he quit,” said Tim Bradley to Max On Boxing about Ryan Garcia quitting in the seventh.
“Tank-Shakur, that seems to be the one that everyone wants to see,” said Max Kellerman. “Do you believe that’s where we’re headed?”
“I don’t think we’re going to head in that direction. Not yet because you have PBC, and they have their obligations to Showtime. Top Rank has their obligations to ESPN,” said Bradley on whether we’ll see Tank Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson soon.
“It’s going to be really hard to combine these networks together. I know they did it with DAZN, but again, Tank can go and fight anybody else on the other side [Showtime & PBC], and they can sell out arenas. So why would they take that risk in fighting Shakur Stevenson?” said Bradley.
“Shakur Stevenson said, ‘I love that fight, and Tank will be the A-side.’ It was the smartest quote I’ve seen from Shakur Stevenson because he’s right; he’s absolutely right. If that fight gets made, Tank will be the A-side,” Bradley said.
Gervonta isn’t a sure thing
“This is one of the reasons going in that you figure Tank is going to win the fight is because Al Haymon would make the fight,” said Kellerman. “When the business is done, when Al Haymon does business, it’s either a guy towards the end [of his career] and he knows it, so he can be underdog Shawn Porter or when he knows his guy [Tank Davis] is going to win.
“That’s why I believe we haven’t seen Crawford-Spence yet, because I don’t think he knows his guy is going to win, Spence, in that case, and that’s why he’s been a major impediment in making that fight in Terence Crawford’s point of view.
“Shakur Stevenson seems to represent the kind of threat that no matter how much money is ultimately available, it’s going to take some doing to get Haymon to risk his guy [Tank Davis] against Shakur. That’s really the impediment to this to me,” said Kellerman.
Tank doesn’t need to take risky fights
“They [Gervonta Davis] can go sellout a 20,000-seat arena fighting against a Cruz or a [Frank] Martin, another 135-pounder over there [with PBC] that’s doing some things,” said Bradley. “They’re not going to waste their time trying to negotiate.
“They’re going to have all the terms and all the money in their hands. They can control everything. So why would they go and fight Shakur Stevenson? It makes no sense. It’s business. But let’s put it this way. If Shakur Stevenson gets a couple of straps at this weight class, he starts making noise and building himself up.
“He’s starting to get a lot more notoriety and can sell out this whole town. Then they’ll probably say, ‘It’s big enough. We’ll go ahead and fight Shakur Stevenson,” said Bradley about Tank’s management at PBC.
Contract would be loaded with stipulations
“There will be all kinds of stipulations in the contract if they believe the other side is really thirsty to make the fight, and Shakur can only fight with one hand,” said Kellerman.
“Do you know why that’s unfair to Tank? Tank doesn’t need that stuff. The worst part about the rehydration clause in this fight [Gervonta vs. Ryan Garcia] was that we both know that if it wasn’t there, the outcome would have been the same in that Tank was going to win because he was better.
“So the presence of it takes something off it. Tank doesn’t need that kind of advantage. He gets it but he doesn’t need it. He’s an excellent fighter and maybe a great one.
“The first thing you do when you look at a fighter stepping on that scale is you see what he does after he steps off that scale,” said Bradley on whether Ryan was weakened by the 10-lb rehydration clause for the Tank fight.
“I didn’t see Ryan rushing over to get some water or some Gatorade right away, so he wasn’t suffering. Understand that because when you’re suffering, you’re going right to the water. You’re downing the water because you’re dehydrated.
“I didn’t see that from him. Yes, the weight had to have some sort of effect; there’s no doubt about it. He [Ryan] hasn’t made that weight in over two years. It’s been a while since he’s been at 135, but we can’t see that as an excuse.
“He signed that contract and agreed to all the terms. Whether you like it or not, you got to deal with it. Ryan Garcia, you already know. It is what it is,” said Bradley.
“I want to focus on Tank now. Tank’s analysis of the fight afterward, I believe, was the most accurate one I heard,” said Max Kellerman. “He was always a step ahead of Ryan. Ryan is a very good fighter, but Tank is better than that.
“His toolbox is deeper. He can do more things. It’s not just superficial, and this idea is throughout Tank’s career. ‘He’s losing fights and getting lucky.’ I don’t see that at all. I see Tank setting traps, running guys into shots, and in this case, also outboxing Ryan.
“After a performance like this, it does seem like there are a lot of fighters and only 10 slots in the pound-for-pound that Tank Davis has to be on that list,” said Kellerman.
“Tank Davis is definitely on that list,” said Bradley. “I think [Jermell] Charlo belongs on the list as well, but there’s no doubt in my mind. Tank Davis, you can see the skill.
“I took off Fury. I said he’s bigger than everyone. Yes, Fury has skills, he can box, but Fury has also been hit and he’s been hurt. A guy like Tank Davis. If you have both of them in the ring together at the same size. With the skills that Tank has and the skills that Fury has, I would favor Tank because Tank can punch and he can box.
“Like you said. He outboxed a taller, longer fighter. He’s a lot smarter than people give him credit for,” said Bradley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX1AKPRPuYA