Linares Backs Tank Davis To KO Loma And Shakur – ‘Gervonta Can Kill This Guy’
Jorge Linares feels Gervonta Davis stops Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson.
Davis is one of the sport’s most devastating punchers. He is undefeated with a 30-0 record, 28 of which are knockout. He stopped Frank Martin in his last fight to retain his WBA Lightweight Title. After the fight, several names were mentioned for Tank’s next opponent. Both Loma and Shakur are in the running. Lomachenko was the favorite, with Davis saying he was next.
The Ukrainian had just picked up the vacant IBF Lightweight Title after stopping George Kambosos Jr. However, it appears Loma is not interested in the fight. His manager, Egis Klimas, has said Loma has no motivation for that challenge now as he will ponder his next move. Lomachenko is not the same fighter who had previously dominated the division.
Tanks vs. Loma
At 36, he has slowed down. His losses to Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez showed that. He was also vocal about considering retirement before the Kambosos fight. But he took the fight on his father’s advice, who did not want him to retire on a loss after the Haney fight. Linares was clear that Loma was not the same fighter.
“[Vasiliy] Lomachenko is a great fighter, amazing guy, amazing boxer. I fought with him, but it’s different. It’s a different time. Maybe four years ago, it would be 50/50. Now I believe Gervonta – we will see in that moment – maybe TKO, maybe some crazy KO.
“You know Gervonta is the guy who maybe wants to do the same plan as he did in the last fight [against Frank Martin]. Keep waiting and waiting. You know he received a couple of punches that night, but what happened after the sixth or seventh round? He waited for the moment, and he killed the guy. So maybe we can see the same situation with Lomachenko,” Linares said
Tank vs. Shakur
That leaves Shakur as an alternative. Stevenson is a highly skilled boxer with great defense. But his defensive style has not gone down well with the fans. He was booed for his last two fights against Edwin De Los Santos and Artem Harutyunyan. That has made Shakur less of an attractive option. Davis has shown that he can walk down his opponents if they do not have the power. Shakur is not the biggest puncher, meaning he must do more to earn Tank’s respect. Martin was doing well in the fight until Davis closed the distance and knocked him out. Linares expects the same to happen if he fights Shakur.
“If Gervonta is fighting with Shakur [Stevenson], it’s more of an easy fight. “I like Shakur, but he has so many crazy things right now. For me, it’s more exciting to see Lomachenko with Gervonta. If that fight happens with Shakur, it’s easy. With Shakur, [Davis] can do whatever he wants to do – maybe decision, maybe KO. If that fight with Shakur can happen, I think Gervonta can kill this guy,” Linares stated
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