For some time now, Shakur Stevenson has said that he believes a fight between himself and Gervonta “Tank” Davis could be one of the biggest in the sport, maybe the biggest. And Stevenson very much wants the fight, the potential career-defining fight, to take place. If it did happen, Stevenson Vs. Tank would be a showdown that would see two unbeaten champions, both at their peak, risking it all for greatness.
And the world would tune in.
But Stevenson, the reigning WBC lightweight champion, is worried going into his July 12 fight with William Zepeda. For while southpaw Stevenson is brimming with confidence that he will get the win and advance to 24-0 next time out, he is not so confident Tank will be able to take care of his impending business, this in a rematch with a man Shakur is very familiar with.
Stevenson doubts Tank can pass the Roach test twice
As fans know, fellow lefty Tank was held to a controversial draw by Lamont Roach Jr in March, with Davis taking a knee but not a count in the ninth round. The rematch was demanded and it will take place in August. And Stevenson tells The Ring that he thinks Tank, 30-0-1(28) will have as much trouble keeping his WBA lightweight title in his return with Roach Jr, 25-1-2(10) as he did in the first fight.
Stevenson, who says he bet on the March 1 fight going the distance, with him saying he “knew Roach wasn’t gonna get the decision,” has sparred Roach Jr, and he says he knows how good he is; how much of a threat he is to both Tank and to his own sought after super-fight with Tank.
Will Stevenson vs. Tank lose its steam?
“When it’s a rematch I don’t look at it like everybody else. I know what Tank is dealing with, so Tank is gonna have to be on a hundred percent of his best and beyond,” Stevenson said. “Because he can’t just be his best, he’s got to be better than whatever he was the last time. I know that me and Tank is the big fight, so it worries me in the fact that I don’t get my opportunity to fight him as an undefeated fighter with Lamont Roach in front of him”, Shakur said to The Ring.
It would be an upset if Roach beat Tank in August, albeit not quite as big now we know what happened in the first fight, and such a result would have an impact on the 135 pound division – and on whether or not a Stevenson-Tank fight would take place, or if it would be anything like as big if it did still go ahead.
For the sake of all those fans who love the idea of Stevenson and Davis going at it for all the marbles, with their unbeaten records intact, let’s hope Tank gets it right, adjusts, and beats Roach in style in August. There is, in the August 16 fight, more pressure on Tank to perform. For a number of reasons.