February 22. Shakur Stevenson reels under Gervonta Davis‘ devastating punches! Wait, something is amiss. When did the mix happen? What happened to Floyd Schofield? Calm down, folks. Nothing’s changed. Shakur Stevenson will fight Floyd Schofield on the Beterbiev-Bivol card. But going by the latest development, it might appear so. The back-and-forth between Stevenson and Davis has made the rounds in the boxing realm. So how did Schofield plunge in between? Jersey City-born ‘Kid Austin’ surprised the boxing world.

Toppling ranked contenders, he won the ticket to face Shakur Stevenson in Saudi Arabia. The unbeaten lightweight has thus far fought in the shadows, many times on Gervonta Davis’ undercard. It’s time for him to show the world what he’s made of. But the task ahead is not as easy as it sounds.

He’s facing a future Hall of Famer. Most pundits have barely given Schofield any chance. Footage of pre-fight exchanges with Stevenson has already garnered considerable attention. So amidst the chaos and confusion, he might have caught hold of the only hand of help.

The tweet from @HighLvlBoxing22 featured a screenshot of Floyd Schofield’s Instagram story. He’d mentioned, “Tank already told us how to beat Shakur.” Now was Schofield taking a swipe, or did he mean it seriously? We all know ‘Tank’ Davis and Shakur Stevenson have sparred in the past. So did he share the takeaways with ‘Kid Austin’?

Tough to say. Gervonta Davis and Floyd Schofield do not seem to have sparred. But it appears the two have interacted during training camps. Given that talks of a potential mega showdown between Shakur Stevenson and the Baltimorean have re-surged, it bewilders when such instances erupt.

The Stevenson-Davis matchup surfaced last year, only to fizzle out later. Before zeroing in on Floyd Schofield, the Olympic silver medalist found himself pitted against Joe Cordina and William Zepeda. Davis, on the other hand, surprised everyone with a decision to face Lamont Roach Jr. The two squared up just a week after the Stevenson-Schofield clash.

Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson: Struggling to break free from the shadow

The fight between the two lightweight champions may never be out of sight. But the acrimonies continue to prevail. Speaking with Ring Magazine’s Douglass Fischer, Shakur Stevenson lamented how on occasions questioning his skills, Gervonta Davis took potshots at him. So if that is the case, what’s the harm in getting in the ring for a dance? he argued.

“He goes out there, he disses me all the time, and speaks bad about my name, so it’s like, um, if you feel the way that you feel about me, oh, I’m not this, and I didn’t do nothing for the sport of boxing as you like stated, then fight me,” Stevenson wondered.

On his part, Gervonta Davis had mentioned Shakur Stevenson’s name in his now-famous ‘hit list.’ So what has changed? Will he finally agree to face the WBC lightweight champion after the Roach Jr. fight? Even HE Turki Alalshikh, with whom Gervonta Davis hasn’t had the best of terms, longs for an epochal fight between Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson. “I hope one day seeing Shakur against Tank,” said the Riyadh Season head during a conversation with Mike Coppinger.

Whether spilling the beans to Floyd Schofield is part of a bigger plan – time alone will tell.

What do you think ‘Tank’ Davis must have told Floyd Schofield?