Claressa Shields Picks Shakur To Beat Tank – ‘Shakur Is The Best’
Claressa Shields has picked Shakur Stevenson to beat Gervonta Davis.
The two are the best boxers in the lightweight division as talks over a unification heats up. Davis holds the WBA Lightweight Belt, which he successfully defended by stopping Frank Martin. Meanwhile, Stevenson secured a win over Artem Harutyunyan to retain his WBC Lightweight Belt in his last fight. That bout was his final fight under Top Rank as he explored his free agency. Tank was targeting a fight with Vasiliy Lomachenko next.
However, the Ukrainian has withdrawn, as his manager Egis Klimas said his fighter is not motivated to fight right now. That leaves Davis vs. Stevenson as the fight to make. They have contrasting styles. Davis is often outboxed in the earlier rounds. However, there is a perception he may do this to test what the opponent brings to the table. If the power is not here, Davis can walk his opponents down. This was shown in the Martin fight.
Shields Reacts
Martin started well. But once Davis closed the distance, he stopped him. As for Shakur, he is defensively sound. He does not get hit too much, as he boxes his way to unanimous decision wins. However, that has damaged his brand. There is a narrative that he is a boring fighter. His fights against Edwin De Los Santos and Artem saw some fans jeer. But when it comes to skills, Shields said Shakur excelled.
“Shakur is the best. To me, he’s better than Tank, better than Devin, better than Ryan [Garcia.] He’s better than Teofimo. Shakur is my number one when it comes to those weight classes. He is me. I’m not gonna ever dismiss a fighter. I think Tank got some great skills and hard…punches. He’s so explosive, but so is Shakur,” Shields said
Who Wins?
Shields’ reasoning was that Shakur has faced tougher opposition. He has faced Oscar Valdez and Robson Conceicao, to name a few, on his way to becoming a three-division champion. Meanwhile, Davis’ best wins were against Rolando Romero and Ryan Garcia. However, both fighters complained of being weight-drained as they immediately moved up to 140 after the loss. Davis has been accused of ducking the best names while only chasing the Lomachenko fight now that the Ukrainian is 36 and at the latter stage of his career. Until Tank has a big-name win, the jury is still out at the elite level.
“Shakur has, for me, faced harder challenges than Tank. When you look at the guys Shakur fought, their records and style … Tank cannot say he’s the best if he knocked out Ryan and Rolly. Who the [heck] is Rolly and who…is a Ryan? Those guys would never get in the ring with Shakur.
“People say it only takes one, you’re right, but when you’re only getting hit 5 or 6%… I’m just rocking with Shakur for that fight, and he’s gonna be smart. Shakur’s strong too, he’s fast, too. When he’s got something to prove he fights to a higher level,” Shields stated
Comments
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
