Shakur Stevenson says the chant that follows Gervonta Davis from arena corridors to nightclub VIP lines is his own name, and he wants the noise settled in a ring. The unbeaten WBC lightweight champion told reporters he has offered to speak with Davis directly - “we can talk on the phone, whatever it takes” - to hammer out a unification that would crown a single, undefeated ruler at 135 pounds. Stevenson insists star power is no obstacle: “You’re a huge superstar. Let’s use that and make history. One of us has to lose.”
Business calendars complicate the rhetoric. Stevenson is already ticketed for 12 July in New York against interim beltholder William Zepeda, a fight ordered by the WBC and funded by Turki Alalshikh. Davis is circling a 21 June Las Vegas date for his own rematch with Lamont Roach after their March majority draw, though the bout remains unsigned. Both match-ups would have to clear before networks and sanctioning bodies could align behind a superfight, and competing promotional alliances - PBC for Davis, Matchroom for Stevenson - remain a hurdle.
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Still, Stevenson’s timing is deliberate. A decisive win over Zepeda would leave him with two WBC straps and a stronger negotiating hand, while a Roach rematch offers Davis the chance to quiet detractors who felt the smaller man out-boxed him. If both emerge unscathed, late 2025 becomes realistic.
For now the talk is only talk, but the demand is undeniable. Wherever either champion goes, the question is the same: when do Shakur and Tank answer it?
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