Hearn And Ellerbe Argue Over Davis Vs. Stevenson Fight – ‘Tank Loses'
Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson is a competitive fight, resulting in a difference of opinion.
The question of who would win came up when Eddie Hearn and Leonard Ellerbe were spotted at the Grand Arrivals for Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga. Hearn recently signed Shakur to a two-fight deal with Matchroom. Meanwhile, Ellerbe has been with Davis throughout his career. It is no surprise that they both backed their fighter.
Hearn spoke on Shakur’s boxing ability and Tank’s tendency to lose rounds. This was shown in the Frank Martin fight. Martin was outboxing Davis in the earlier parts, showing success with his footwork. Shakur is known for having good feet and defense, which offers a pathway to success. But the very same Martin fight also showed how Tank can achieve success.
Hearn And Ellerbe
Once he tasted Martin’s power, it was clear Davis did not respect it. He walked him down, closing the distance before landing on the chin. Once Martin felt the power, the fight was soon over. That is the narrative that many boxing fans see playing out, as it’s a question of whether Shakur can outbox Tank or will Davis catch up to him. Hearn and Ellerbe saw the fight playing out differently.
Ellerbe: “He won’t beat Tank. Shakur can’t beat Tank.”
Hearn: “I disagree. Tank loses rounds.”
Ellerbe: “Tank decides to do what he wants to do in certain fights.”
Hearn: “Me and you can have a bet on that fight.”
Ellerbe: “Most definitely.”
Hearn: “I think Shakur is the man to beat him.”
Ellerbe: “Shakur cannot beat Tank. He’s a very good fighter. I have a lot of respect for him with what he’s done in the ring, and he has a good team around him. He can’t beat Tank.”
Hearn: “I disagree with you on that.”
Will It Happen?
Before a fight can happen, it is vital that they both keep winning. Shakur was meant to box Joe Cordina on October 12 in his first fight with Matchroom. It would have been on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol card. They face off for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Title in Saudi Arabia. But Shakur picked up a hand injury, keeping him out until next year.
Both Ellerbe and Hearn are interested in making the Tank-Stevenson fight. But it has to make business sense. Stevenson’s last two fights have damaged his commercial value. Despite beating Edwin De Los Santos and Artem Harutyunyan, he was jeered. He fought on the back foot against De Los Santos. Meanwhile, Stevenson failed to stop Harutyunyan despite controlling the fight. But Hearn was desperate to make it.
"I’ll say this about Shakur. His fire has been dampened for a long time by people [Top Rank] that knew he was going [leaving at the end of his contract]. He did a big gate in Newark for [Artem Harutyunyan fight on July 6th in New Jersey].
"He was the highest-rated fighter on ESPN this year. Shakur does big numbers, but I didn’t want to tell everyone that he does big numbers. If we keep building him and he comes up against a commercial giant like Tank, Shakur against Tank is one of the great American fights and one of the biggest fights in boxing," Hearn stated
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