Shakur Wants Lomachenko, Tank In 2023
Shakur Stevenson, for many the best young and unbeaten fighter currently operating in the lower weight divisions, says it’s “weird” that a number of 135 pound fighters have elected not to welcome him to the lightweight division, this despite the fact that he has not yet fought above super-featherweight. But Stevenson says he is “not tripping.”
Having failed to get Isaac Cruz, Jose Zepeda and George Kambosos Jr in the ring with him, Stevenson is now looking at making his move to the lightweight division against Jamaine Ortiz. Stevenson, speaking with Sky Sports, said he knows Ortiz personally and that he himself was impressed with the performance Ortiz gave when he pushed Vasiliy Lomachenko hard in their fight in October. Stevenson, 19-0(9) says he feels Ortiz will agree to face him.
After that, in what he says would be his ideal year, Stevenson wants to fight Lomachenko and then Gervonta Davis. “By the end of 2023, I think I’ll be fighting for top three [position] on the pound-for-pound list,” he said.
“We already looked for some tope guys at lightweight and actually they turned me down already,” Stevenson said. “Guys like Isaac Cruz turned me down, that’s a top guy that fought Tank. It’s real weird that they would turn down a guy that never fought one fight at 135. It is what it is, we’re not tripping. The top people are busy right now. Devin is going to fight Lomachenko. Tank has got two fights coming up. So obviously we can’t make those fight right now so I’ll go for the next available option. Jamaine Ortiz is on the list. He’s not going to say no. He wouldn’t duck nobody. He did real good with Lomachenko. I know he’s a tough fight for whoever. He’s a big 135.
“I’ll probably fight Lomachenko. After, I want Tank. That’s who I would fight if I could pick my year.”
Stevenson really is an old-school fighter in as much as he goes searching, and searching for the best fights, the toughest fights, the dare to be great fights. We must wait and see what happens in the Haney-Lomachenko fight, but Stevenson against the winner would be great – for Stevenson and for us fans. The same can be said of the Tank Davis-Ryan Garcia fight. Stevenson can be expected to move up to the 140 division before too long.
As Stevenson says – “I’m going to take my career to new heights. I’m ready for the big pay-per-view fights.”
2023 could prove to be a huge year for Shakur Stevenson.