Shakur Stevenson predicts he will “put on a show” in the title defense of his WBC lightweight title against Floyd Schofield on February 22 in Riyadh. Shakur also says he doesn’t need Gervonta Davis and he’s not chasing him. It’s a laugh.
Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) wants to “make a statement” to the Saudis and all the fans who will be watching the event at home on DAZN PPV. He will likely anger fans and have them booed in the fourth round because of his movement.
“I’m too smart”
“It’s a familiar face to the fans. People know him a little bit. It’s going to be a fun fight,” Shakur Stevenson told Fight Hub TV, talking about his title defense against Floyd Schofield Jr. on Feb. 22. “It’s a motivated child. He will take my place. He’s trying to take my crown.
“When you fight a young, hungry lion, that’s a lot to deal with in itself. I remember being that age myself. I wanted so badly to win a world title. I worked super extremely hard. I expect him to be the same way.
“My experience. I have too much experience for him. I’m too smart. I’m going to take him to a level he’s never been to before,” Shakur said of Schofield. “I’m a name on the map. I’m going to put on a show. Kid Schofield is right in the way. You better be very focused.”
Schofield will make Shakur look bad by pressuring him and hitting him hard when he gets close enough to connect. Stevenson will be forced to run like he did against Edwin De Los Santos and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Saudi crowd boos him. They are polite people, but Stevenson might anger them enough with his running to make them boo him out of the ring.
“I don’t need him”
“If he wants to retire with the career he got, go ahead and do what you have to do. I disagree with that. I think it’s soft, but it’s him” Stevenson said of Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis saying he will retire after 2025.
Tank has nothing to gain by fighting Shakur because he is not popular. If Stevenson had the popularity of Ryan Garcia, Tank would have fought him long ago. He is not. Shakir’s boring fighting style has stood in the way of him becoming popular, and now he is getting up there in age. He’s going to move up soon.
“I’m not into chasing people around. If he’s willing to fight, I’m ready to fight. It should happen, but I can’t sit there and chase you and then he’s going to make it look like about, I need him. I don’t need him,” Shakur said of not needing Tank Davis.
Who is he kidding? Shakur has been chasing Tank Davis since he moved up to 135 in 2023. Shakur has mentioned Gervonta’s name in numerous interviews and said he wants to fight him and sounds absolutely desperate. He has sounded in love with the tank battle.
Stevenson’s career depends on that fight, and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, has talked nonstop about wanting to fight Tank-Shakur. That could be the main reason Hearn signed Shakur, as a match between him and Tank would bring in a lot of money.
