Shakur Stevenson revealed his slightly changed three-fight roster for 2025 today, saying he wants these fighters this year:
- Floyd Scofield: *Already scheduled
- Vasiliy Lomachenko
- Gervonta Davis
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) will defend against Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) on February 22 in Riyadh. If Shakur wins that fight, it is unclear who his rematch will be in 2025. He had been saying he wanted to fight William Zepeda, but he has changed his tune and is hoping to fight Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Roya Shakur
“Lomachenko and then Tank,” Shakur Stevenson told Ariel Helwani. channel About who he wants to fight in 2025 after his match against Kid Austin. “I'm not very confident. I think he's scared,” Shakur said when asked how confident he was going into a fight against Lomachenko. “I sparred with him a while ago, and I think he's been scared ever since.
“They'll definitely get in the way too. “My hopes are pretty low,” Shakur said about whether Top Rank would get in the way of a fight between him and Lomachenko. “With him leaving, I think he can accomplish a lot of things. Hopefully he can do it.
“Zepeda. He's a good fighter,” Stevenson said when asked who his second fight would be in 2025 if he can't get Lomachenko. “I'd like to beat him up, too. He was running away from me for a minute. So, I'm kind of skeptical about that fight as well.
I don't know why Shakur would mention Lomachenko's name except to gain leverage. He's already made it clear he's not interested in fighting a feud, especially if he doesn't have a fan base outside of his hometown of Newark. If Loma fights again, it will likely be against Gervonta Davis because that is the biggest payday he could get. He won't waste time on Shakur, who is unattractive and doesn't show up to fight.
The Faylian role
Shakur's popularity rests on his embrace of the villain, but he's not entertaining to watch and never will be. Everything for him is old use Mayweather's style of hitting and not hitting, Don't risk it, win rounds by hitting a small number of shots. Stevenson doesn't throw many punches because he focuses on defense 90% of the time and escapes after one throw.
“He doesn't want to share the spotlight. When he's asked my name, he seems very frustrated in his emotions. He has to live with it until he fights me,” Shakur said when asked why Gervonta Davis was upset about fighting him during interviews.
A lot of times when Tank gets asked about Shakur, it's when he has a fight scheduled or when he's finished fighting someone. The interviewers went off the rails, mentioning Shakur's name, which was unrelated to the topic. Of course, it will upset Tank because Stevenson has nothing to do with what's going on. Also, Shakur doesn't fight anyone well and never did. He seems bored in his fights. Why would Tank want to fight this type of fighter?
The tank: the ultimate goal
“If he feels that way, I feel like we should fight. Get it off your chest. I'd be very upset if this fight didn't happen just because it's been my dream fight for a long time. I was ready to prove who I was to the world once I beat him. Yes, I will be,” Shakur said. “Kind of upset, but I don't need it.”
Stevenson should work his way up instead of using Tank Davis to increase his popularity. There are plenty of fighters at 135, 140, 147, and 154 that Shakur could fight to become a star. He doesn't need Tank's help. If he's so ambitious, why doesn't he face these fighters: Andy Cruz, Jaron Ennis, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Virgil Ortiz, Bakram Murtazaliev, and Serhiy Bohachuk?
If Shakur is willing to take risks in his career, he won't need Tank Davis to give him a boost. There are plenty of fighters between the ages of 135 and 154 that Stevenson could fight to turn himself into a star. It takes courage, talent and a willingness to participate. Shakur is deficient in all three categories.
1. @Kid Austin11
2. @VasylLomachenko
3. @gervontaThe list of goals for 2025 was drawn up by @ShakurStevenson 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hASQ9bZG3h
— Match Room Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 14, 2025
