Top Rank promoter Bob Arum doubts whether he can give his fighter Shakur Stevenson the super-fight he wants against WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta Davis.
Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs) has one fight left on his contract with Top Rank. He’s currently retired after failing to get the matches he wanted. According to Keyshawn Davis, the 26-year-old Shakur will only come out of retirement for a big fight.
Unfortunately, Arum may not be able to deliver a fight with Tank Davis or any of the big names to motivate Stevenson to end his brief retirement. Arum says the money that Tank would get fighting Shakur wouldn’t be on the level of what he just got fighting Ryan Garcia last April.
Tank probably won’t want to fight Shakur, which is a more difficult fight, for less money than what he got fighting Ryan. It makes sense. Shakur is hard to hit and would likely be running around the ring, trying not to get tagged for 12 rounds, like we saw in his last fight against Edwin De Los Santos last November.
Stevenson Wants the Fight, But Can Davis be Tempted?
“As far as Shakur is concerned, he wants to do that fight, and it’s not [Al] Haymon or anybody. It’s Gervonta Davis that has to want to do that fight,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to Fight Hub TV about a fight that his fighter, Shakur Stevenson, wants against WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, which he’s not likely to get.
Tank Davis never mentions wanting to fight Shakur, and that’s a clear signal that he doesn’t exist. He’s invisible, as far as Tank’s concerned, and it’s understandable because his fighting style is box office poison. It’s not one that Tank wants to solve and be booed along with Shakur by the fans.
“Remember, he [Tank Davis] came off a big, big fight against [influencer boxer Ryan] Garcia, and even though it’s [Shakur] a much more difficult fight, fighting Shakur doesn’t give him the same payday because Garcia inflates the numbers because of his social media presence [11 million Instagram followers],” said Arum.
“That’s not a knock on Garcia. That’s a compliment that he’s able to bring to the table, but again, it has nothing to do with the fighter’s ability or inactivity. It is what it is,” said Arum.
