By Sean Jones: Shakur Stevenson took the time today to give a preview of the upcoming Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Ryan Garcia & Devin Haney vs. Vasily Lomachenko fights.
Stevenson predicts that Tank Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) will start slow but then come on and stop the unbeaten Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) in the fifth or sixth round on April 22nd on Showtime PPV at the T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas.
In the Haney-Lomachenko fight on May 20th, Stevenson believes undisputed lightweight champion Haney (19-0, 15 KOs) will have too much size for Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) after he blows up potentially to 160 after he makes weight at 135.
Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) is fighting this Saturday night in a WBC lightweight title eliminator against Shuichiro Yoshino (16-0, 12 KOs) in an ESPN tripleheader at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. If Stevenson wins, he’ll be WBC mandatory to champion Haney.
On the Stevenson-Yoshino undercard, heavyweight Jared Anderson faces George Arias & lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis battles Anthony Yigit.
Tank Davis vs. Ryan Garcia
“I think Tank knocks Ryan out. I think he sleeps Ryan,” said Shakur Stevenson to Top Rank Boxing in predicting a knockout victory for Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis over Ryan Garcia. “I think Ryan is going to come out winning. I think he’s going to be taller & longer.
“It’s going to be hard for Tank to get inside. Tank is probably going to be boxing and moving. I think five or six, his [Ryan] punches are going to slow down, and once they do, Tank is going to capitalize.
Devin Haney vs. Vasily Lomachenko
“Devin is too big. The size [is too much]. Don’t get me wrong, Lomachenko can fight,” said Shakur about undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney being too big for challenger Vasily Lomachenko.
“Devin is way out of his weight class. He’s going to make 135 and then shoot up to 150 or 160. Nine times out of ten, Lomachenko is going to be 137, 138. So, it’s not even fair, to be honest. I think he’s going to kill Lomachenko, to be honest.
“Not kill because I don’t think Devin be beating people up, but he’s going to outbox him,” said Stevenson.
Three fighters turned down Shakur Stevenson fight
“On top. I think any division I go in, I’m standing on top top,” said Stevenson when asked where he’ll be when the dust settles in the division. “I went to 126. Luckily, I only got to fight for one belt.
“I went to 130 and went in for Jamel [Herring] and took his [WBO super featherweight] belt. Then I went to [Oscar] Valdez, who was the #1 in the division. I went and smoked him.
“Any weight division I go in, I’ve got to go fight the best of the best. Me, I’m going to be on top for sure. Probably in my next fight, if I get the opportunity, I’m fighting for the belt,” said Haney.
“Isaac Cruz fought Tank, and Kambosos fought Devin,” Haney said about two fighters that turned him down for the WBC lightweight title eliminator on Saturday. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t get in the ring and fight me.
“I don’t get that part. That’s the part I don’t get, and fans allowed them to get away with that. If it was me, and the shoe was on the other foot and I turned down a fight with Isaac Cruz and one of those dudes. I think the fans would drill me.
“They would, ‘Oh, you’re ducking. You’re scared. You’re scary, Sugar,’ and all that stuff. I just feel the fans are allowing them to get away with this. I can’t respect that. That’s why I say it’s a backwards game. It’s so backwards.
“Mayweather got criticized for not fighting Pacquiao for years, but now we see fighters turn down fights, and it’s regular. There’s no backlash from fighters turning down fights. You’re going to have a few fans that say you duck.
“To be honest, they’re not every two seconds, ‘Oh, Isaac Cruz, you didn’t want to fight Shakur.’ It was like, ‘Shakur was running.’ Shut up, dude. You just didn’t want to fight me. That’s how I look at it.
“When I’m older, I want to have a legendary name like how Ali was. Ali’s name is going to be forever one of the greatest. I want to be that to have that type of legacy where the whole world knows that I was one of the greatest fighters to ever do it. The Mike Tyson-Muhammad Ali effect. That’s what I’m aiming for.
“I don’t want to have a full career, and I’ve done so much in the sport of boxing and don’t nobody know who I am. I can go to an NBA game, and nobody recognizes me. That type of stuff. I want to be a legend. I want to have that type of legacy,” said Stevenson.
“For a long time, I felt like a big deal after I came back from the [2016] Olympics,” said Shakur when asked when he realized that he was famous. “When I came back, they had a parade. I felt like a big deal then.
“Now, I don’t even look at it in that type of way. I realize that we’re all human. I don’t even see myself as a super big deal. When I was younger, I kind of look at it that way, but now. I’m humble, and I’m going to remain that way.
“No matter how much money, cars, and fame I get, I’m going to remain the same Shakur that I am now. We stay grounded because everybody bleeds the same, and everybody is human.
“I became so much more of a gym rat. I remind myself how it was when I was a 12-year-old kid, 13, 14; I was in the gym all day, every day. Now, I feel the same way. I feel I’m back in love with the sport.
“I fell out of love for a little bit, but now I feel like I’m fully back. I feel like the sport got lame. I feel like there’s a lot of lame stuff in the sport,” said Shakur Stevenson.
