Shakur Stevenson successfully defended his WBC lightweight title by securing a unanimous decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan at the Prudential Center in Newark; however, the performance left some fans disappointed and reminiscent of the fight against Edwin De Los Santos. Despite this, there is now unexpected talk of a potential bout with Gervonta Davis, a prospect spurred by remarks made by Davis’ trainer Kenny Ellis.

Davis, a native of Baltimore, had been in discussions to fight IBF lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko later this year, a possibility that arose after Lomachenko’s victory over George Kambosos Jr. However, with Stevenson having completed his last fight under the Top Rank banner and now a free agent, Ellis claims that Lomachenko, who is also affiliated with Top Rank, has agreed to step aside, allowing Davis to face Stevenson first.

In an Instagram post earlier today, Ellis announced, “Breaking news: Lomachenko said he will step aside and let Gervonta Davis fight Shakur Stevenson this fall, and he’ll fight the winner early 2025.” talkSport editor Michael Benson later picked up the story and shared in on his X account. It is worth noting that Stevenson has been lobbying for a fight against Davis, his fellow lightweight champion, for quite some time, although Davis had previously been reluctant to make the fight happen.

Meanwhile, Stevenson seems to not just be open to a clash against Gervonta Davis, but feels it’s inevitable.

Shakur Stevenson on fighting Gervonta Davis

The talks of a potential fight between Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson has never fizzled out, yet it was all that everyone could talk about in the buildup to the Harutyunyan fight. And the same was the case before Davis knocked out Frank Martin last month. A couple of days ago, Stevenson sat down with Boxing Scene to discuss such a matchup.

He said, “I have the best seat in the house. We all know that me and Tank is going to be the biggest fight in years to come. Everybody and any promoter will want to be involved when that happens. I just sit back and chill and try not to think about it. I’ll think about it when it happens”. Claiming a fight between him and Davis is as big as it gets, Stevenson suggested that everyone in the States would stop everything to watch their clash. 

Having said that, there’s been no word from Gervonta Davis himself about such a fight, nor has Shakur Stevenson shared his comments on Vasyl Lomachenko stepping aside. Nevertheless, the prospect of such a fight happening is monumental for both of their careers. So, we would like to get your thoughts on this new development. Will this fight happen? Or is it all just hype?