Can Shakur Stevenson draw Lomachenko and lock Davis in the ring?

Shakur Stevenson today revealed his slightly changed three-fight hit list for 2025, saying he wants these fighters this year:

1. Floyd Schofield: *already scheduled
2. Vasily Lomachnko
3. 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’s unclear who his second match in 2025 will be. He had said he wanted to fight William Zepeda, but has changed his tune and hopes to fight Vasily Lomachenko.

Shakur’s vision

“Lomachenko and then Tank,” Shakur Stevenson told Ariel Helwani channel about who he wants to fight in 2025 after his match against Kid Austin. “Not too sure. I think he’s scared,” Shakur said when asked how confident he is about fighting Lomachenko. “I fought him a while ago, and I think he’s been scared ever since.

“They would definitely get in the way as well. So my hopes are very low,” Shakur said of whether Top Rank would get in the way of a fight between him and Lomachenko. “With Turki, I think he can make a lot of things happen. Hopefully, he can.

“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, too. It’s been running away from me for a minute. So I’m a little skeptical about this fight as well.”

I don’t know why Shakur mentions Lomachenko’s name other than to gain momentum. He’s already made it clear he’s not interested in fighting a runner, especially one with no fan base outside of his hometown of Newark. If Loma does fight again, it will probably be against Gervonta Davis because that’s the biggest payday he can get. He won’t waste his time with Shakur, who isn’t an attraction and isn’t coming to fight.

The villainous role

Shakur’s popularity is based on his embrace of the villain role, but he is not entertaining to watch and never will be. His whole thing is to use the old Mayweather’s hit-and-miss style, don’t take chances and win rounds by getting a small number of shots. Stevenson doesn’t throw many punches because he focuses on defense 90% of the time and escapes after throwing a single shot.

“He doesn’t want to share the spotlight. When they ask my name, he seems to be very frustrated with his feelings. He just has to live with it until he fights me,” Shakur said when asked why Gervonta Davis gets upset about fighting him during interviews.

A lot of the time when Tank is asked about Shakur, it’s when he already has a fight scheduled or when he’s just fought someone. The interviewers veer off course, mentioning Shakur’s name, which is unrelated to the topic. Of course it will upset Tank because Stevenson is not relevant to what is going on. Also, Shakur isn’t fighting anyone good and never has. He seems bored in his fights. Why would Tank want to fight this type of fighter?

Tank: The ultimate goal

“If he feels that way, I think we should fight. Get it off your chest. I would be very upset if this fight doesn’t happen just because this has been my dream fight for a long time. I’ve been ready to prove who I’m only in the world with him. Yeah, I’d be a little upset, but I don’t need him,” Shakur said.

Stevenson should cut his own way instead of using Tank Davis to boost his popularity. There are plenty of fighters at 135, 140, 147 and 154 that Shakur can fight to become a star. He doesn’t need Tank’s help. If you’re ambitious, why not take on these fighters: Andy Cruz, Jaron Ennis, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Vergil Ortiz, Bakhram Murtazaliev and Serhii Bohachuk?

If Shakur was willing to take a chance on his career, he wouldn’t need Tank Davis to give him a boost. There are plenty of fighters from 135-154 that Stevenson could fight to transform into a star. It takes courage, talent and a desire to participate. Shakur is deficient in all three of these categories.

1. @KidAustin11
2. @VasylLomachenko
3. @Gervontaa

The 2025 hit list has been presented by @ShakurStevenson 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hASQ9bZG3h

— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 14, 2025