WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is weeks away from his highly anticipated bout against rising star Floyd Schofield Jr. The bout is scheduled to unfold on the undercard of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch in Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, the Newark native has been accused of being a coward by Gervonta Davis’ team. 

You see, ‘Sugar’ Stevenson has been asking for a fight against ‘Tank’ Davis for quite some time now. However, all he has received in return are insults. With Stevenson’s next fight on the doorstep, Davis’ co-trainer coach Kenny Ellis has accused Stevenson of being the one who is ducking a fight against Davis.

Davis, the WBA lightweight champion, will lock horns with WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr. on March 1st in Brooklyn, a fight that has received backlash as the Baltimore native chose to fight someone from a lower weight class. Regardless, while appearing in an interview with Mill City Boxing recently, Ellis suggested Stevenson would use hand injury as an excuse to avoid fighting ‘Tank.’

For context, in October last year, Stevenson was scheduled to face Joe Cordina on the undercard of Beterbiev-Bivol. However, due to a hand injury, Stevenson had to pull out of the fight. Reports later revealed that Stevenson had to undergo surgery to fix the issue with his hand. In a recent interview with Matchroom Boxing, Stevenson claimed that his hand is much better now and shouldn’t cause any issues during or before the Schofield bout.

Regardless, Ellis feels the injury will come back after the Schofield bout. “Shakur will win his next fight,” Ellis told Mill City Boxing. “But he is gonna hurt his hands. Even if his hand ain’t hurt, it’s going to be hurt.” As to why this will happen, Ellis claimed, “That’s what you do when you trying to buy time.”

It’s also worth noting that ‘Tank’ Davis has previously revealed that he will retire after 2025. With the Roach fight in March, and Davis fighting twice a year, there’s only one fight left for ‘Tank’ if he sticks to his retirement claims. In contrast to Ennis’ claims about Stevenson, however, the WBC lightweight title holder sees a potential fight between them as a legacy-defining fight.

Shakur Stevenson claims Gervonta Davis needs him as much as he needs Davis

Shakur Stevenson isn’t buying the narrative that he’s the only one who needs a fight with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. While many believe Stevenson is chasing Davis, the reigning WBC lightweight champion sees it differently. In his eyes, their potential showdown is just as important for Davis’ legacy as it is for his own.

“Me and ‘Tank’ is the legacy-defining fight for each other,” Stevenson told Eze Talks Sports last month during the February 22nd Saudi card press conference. “A lot of people try to make it seem like I need him. But honestly, he needs me just as much as I need him.” However, before Stevenson can even dream of fighting Davis, he must make a statement finish against Schofield Jr.

And Stevenson’s attitude suggests he is planning to do exactly that. “There’s gonna be a lot of big fights but I gotta focus on the task in front of me,” Stevenson said. “Then we can talk about the next guy and the guys after that.”

Having said that, it appears coach Kenny Ellis is under the impression that Shakur Stevenson is ducking Gervonta Davis. However, from the outside looking in, it seems like the Davis fight is Stevenson’s ultimate goal. But you be the judge of who is ducking who. Regardless, if they were to fight, who do you think would win?