Crawford Backs Shakur To Beat Tank – ‘Shakur’s Defense Is Too Tight’
Terence Crawford has given his take on a Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta Davis fight.
Crawford is very close friends with Shakur, who is preparing to face Floyd Schofield on February 22. Shakur makes a defense of his WBC Lightweight Title as he faces a lot of pressure coming into this fight. He has his first fight with Matchroom Boxing, which has been delayed for some time. He was set to face Joe Cordina last year.
But Shakur suffered a hand injury, which required surgery. He was then on course to face his WBC mandatory William Zepeda. But the Mexican also withdrew after he suffered his hand injury. Shakur’s last two performances have not been the best. He was criticized for fighting Edwin De La Santos on the back foot as he won a dull unanimous decision to win the vacant WBC belt.
He followed it up with his first defense against Artem Harutyunyan. But that performance was also criticized, with some fans leaving before the final round as Shakur failed to get the stoppage. Shakur has been linked with the Davis fight for some time. Tank boxes Lamont Roach Jr. on March 1 in a defense of his WBA belt, as a win could set up a Shakur bout. But there appears to be a standoff with Tank Davis playing down Shakur’s skills.
Crawford On Tank
This is despite Shakur being a three-weight world champion. Tank felt Shakur does not have elite-level skills, whilst also feeling that he is a boring fighter. Crawford gave his view on this, stating that Davis knows he cannot box Shakur like he does against everyone else. Tank has developed a reputation for being a serious knockout artist. But Shakur has developed one of the best defenses in the sport of boxing. Bud was clear that Tank would not be able to connect with his shots as much as he would like, making it one of his most difficult bouts. If they were ever to face off, Crawford backed Shakur to win.
“Shakur is a three-weight world champion. How many actual titles has Tank had? Like two? Real titles. [Jose] Pedraza, he drained Pedraza. Let’s do it on an even playing field. Give that man time to train. Gervonta is telling it like it is by saying that Shakur is boring because that’s the truth. Fighters that have that style are so afraid to get hit that they’ll go out of their way not to be touched.
“They need to be weeded out of the sport. Tank is great for what he do, and I respect Tank in the ring and his skills, his power, and attributes. He’s smart. He can box his a** off. I’m not saying I would pick Shakur just because of our differences. I’m telling you as a fighter. I would pick Shakur because I don’t think Tank would be able to land his shots on him like he does everything else. Shakur’s defense is too tight,” Crawford said
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