Just who is the best 135 pounder in the world right now? You might say Shakur Stevenson is the man, or Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Or how about Lamont Roach Junior? Someone else? Pretty soon, we will see Stevenson in action against William Zepeda, and the WBC lightweight champ is predicting a KO win on July 12.
Then, if all goes to plan, WBA champ Tank will fight his return match with Roach Jr – who pushed him all the way to a controversial draw back in March (this when Tank took a knee in round-nine yet was not issued a count by the referee) – in August.
Stevenson eyes the winner, calls both “good fighters”
And Stevenson wants to fight the winner.
“Tank’s a hell of a fighter, Lamont is a hell of a fighter. Hopefully me and him [whoever wins the rematch] can make the fight happen. I like Lamont in the rematch,” Stevenson said when speaking with K.O Artist Sports. “I sparred with Lamont and I knew that he was a good fighter. He helped me get ready for the Oscar Valdez fight, and I knew his style with Tank’s style what he was going to be able to bring to the table. They’re both good fighters, and it’s going to be a hell of a fight, truthfully they both good fighters. It was the same Tank we’ve seen throughout his entire career, he’s the same fighter and he’ll be the same throughout his career.”
Best in the world? We might find out next year
If Tank is the same as he was in the first fight with Roach, he could be in real trouble. One would think Tank knows he has to up his game in order to get the win this time. But whoever wins, a fight with Stevenson would be great as well as good for the sport; unification fights always being a good thing.
Let’s see how Stevenson gets on with Zepeda, and then let’s watch and see what transpires in the Tank-Roach return. Might we get an answer as to who the best lightweight in the world is some time next year?