Shakur Stevenson On “Terrible” Fight Between Tank Davis And Jake Paul: “He Can Make More Money Fighting Me”
Reigning WBC lightweight champ Shakur Stevenson was a guest on the Ariel Helwani show last night, and the unbeaten southpaw spoke again about his desire to get a big fight with rival 135 pound champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Stevenson, who first has to take care of business against all-action Mexican warrior William Zepeda on Saturday night in New York, broke down in laughter when he was asked what he thinks about the mooted fight (or more likely exhibition) between Tank and Jake Paul.
Stevenson said he “gets it,” as it would be a big money fight, but Shakur argues how Tank would actually make money by fighting him, not Paul. And it absolutely goes without saying which of the two fights the world’s boxing fans want to see.
Why Stevenson Thinks Tank vs Paul Is ‘Terrible’
“I think that’s terrible,” a laughing Stevenson said of a possible Tank-Paul fight. “I mean, I get it, because at the end of the day it’s the money business and you want to make the most money…..but. From what I’m hearing, he [Tank] can make more money in a fight with me. If that’s the case, why not fight me? Do I think he beats Jake Paul? Yeah, yeah. It is [a big size difference between them] but I think Tank’s got the skills to make sure he comes out on top.”
Tank, against cruiserweight Paul, would indeed be giving away a ton of weight, but as Shakur says, skills pay the bills. Aside from that possible fight, Stevenson did say that he feels Paul has improved a whole lot and that he thinks he can “in the right situation” become a world champion. That’s quite the statement from Stevenson, but Paul is now world ranked, so who knows, maybe he will in fact get a world title chance.
Back to Stevenson, and he says he is picking Lamont Roach to beat Tank in their (still not officially announced) rematch. If he’s right, Stevenson says he would then rather fight Roach, “just because of the challenge.” However, Shakur also said that a fight between himself and Tank “has got to happen.”
Let’s first see how Stevenson gets on with the unbeaten Zepeda, and then let’s see what happens if and when Tank and Roach do fight a second time. Interesting times for the 135 pound division.
