Promoter Eddie Hearn says after Shakur Stevenson “deals with” his substitute opponent, Josh Padley, on Saturday night, “then bring on Tank” Davis.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
Hearn is in a hurry to make that fight, which would be the final fight of Shakur’s two-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing. Saturday is Shakur’s first fight on his contract. For Hearn to push so hard for the Tank fight to happen next can only mean one thing: He’s not interested in re-signing Shakur to a new contract.
Hearn’s Tank Focus
You can just tell from watching Shakur’s last two fights that he’s not going to beat any of the top fighters at 135. That’s why there’s such a rush to make the Tank Davis fight. That fight needs to happen before Shakur gets exposed.
Shakur is too fragile to beat the top fighters in the lightweight division, and he’s still unbeaten because he hasn’t fought anyone good at 135. He almost lost to Edwin De Los Santos and blamed his poor performance on his hand problems/
Padley isn’t precisely the type of opponent to set up a mega-fight against the ‘Face of Boxing’ Tank Davis. That’s the type of guy a wily, cunning promoter would match a hype job up against to create the illusion of greatness to maneuver into a cash-out. It’s the old trick when trying to make a flawed fighter look good. You match them against something far worse, and they look good.
If Hearn wanted to build the Tank fight in a real way, he’d match Shakur against one of these fighters next:
– Andy Cruz
– Abdullah Mason
– Ernesto Mercado
“Shakur Stevenson, pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, and good luck to Josh Padley. He’ll come with [courage], and he’ll give it a good go,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, celebrating Josh Padley being chosen by him as the replacement to challenge WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson on Saturday night in Riyadh.
“He’ll [Padley] get beat, I believe, but good luck to him. He’s a good lad from Yorkshire is going to make a nice few quid, change his life, and fight for the [WBC lightweight] world title. He’s up for it. He’s not checking himself in nowhere.
“So, don’t waste our time, especially when it comes to Shakur Stevenson, because this kid is one of the best fighters in boxing. I’m not allowing anyone to disrupt his career. We deal with Saturday night, then bring on Tank. We don’t need these fights. Schofield, Tank fighting Lamont Roach. We don’t them. Tank fighting Shakur Stevenson. Shakur, show us how great you are on Saturday night. End of topic,” said Hearn.
Last Updated on 02/19/2025
