A Gervonta Davis versus Shakur Stevenson match-up is one of the most intriguing clash of styles in all of boxing.

Davis is the current WBA lightweight champion and is known for his explosive power, securing an impressive 28 knockouts from his 30 victories.

Stevenson is the WBC belt holder at 135 and goes about his business in a different way. He’s known for his excellent defensive skills and keeps to the old boxing adage of ‘hit and don’t get hit’.

The two unbeaten fighters have long been linked to a unification bout but as of yet no deal has come close.

One man who knows a thing or two about dominating the lighter weights is former pound-for-pound star Floyd Mayweather.

Mayweather, who guided a large portion of ‘Tank’s career before a bitter split, has now given his verdict on the two fighters.

In an interview with the It Is What It Is praised both men for being the best in the division.

“You got guys fighting between 130, 135 and 160. They stacked around that area. As of right now, the two guys… The biggest puncher at 135 would probably be Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, but the most skilful fighter at 135 would be, hands down, Shakur Stevenson.”

Asked if Shakur’s talents were enough to be the best without carrying the type power ‘Tank’ does, Mayweather believes ultimately it’s ‘skills that pay the bills’.

“It’s really all about skills. Pernell Whitaker wasn’t a huge puncher, but he was very exciting, very tough and he fought everybody. Shakur’s trying do the same thing. He want to fight the best they got out there. He’s asking can he fight the best.”

Gervonta Davis is back in the ring on December 14, when he will defend his title against Lamont Roach Jr at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Fans patiently await the return of Gervonta Davis.

Following a statement win over Ryan Garcia in 2023, ‘Tank’ Davis ran into legal trouble and was placed on house arrest and subsequently in prison, putting his boxing rise on pause.

In the time since he has been elevated to full WBA Lightweight Champion after Devin Haney vacated to move up in weight and has defended that belt with an emphatic stoppage of previously-undefeated Frank Martin.

Talks with fellow champion Vasiliy Lomachenko fell apart when the Ukrainian said he wasn’t motivated to fight again this year and nothing transpired with Shakur Stevenson, either.

Despite the lack of suitable dance partner, ‘Tank’s team has held the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas for November 2.

Speaking to Pro Boxing Fans, coach Ricky Funez – who currently corners rising star Hamzah Sheeraz – revealed that the November date will go ahead and hinted as to the opponent.

“I know. I know who he is [fighting next]. It’s gonna be a secret, it’s gonna be out. It’s not public yet but it’ll be in November and I think it’s gonna be in Las Vegas. It’s gonna be against one of Robert Garcia’s fighters.”

Funez is most likely referring to Jose Valenzuela. ‘El Rayo’ recently handily defeated Isaac Cruz to win his WBA Super-Lightweight World Title. It was well known that ‘Tank’ was targeting the rematch with ‘Pitbull’ Cruz after beating him via unanimous decision back in 2021 – just the second time he has been the distance in his campaign.

When Valenzuela upset those plans talk immediately turned to him facing ‘Tank’ instead, although it’s not yet clear who’s belt would be on the line. The 29-year-old puncher from Baltimore has fought at 140 once before, defeating Mario Barrios.

The only issue with the match-up is that Robert Garcia has very recently stated that Valenzuela won’t be out again this year.

“No. November 2 is too soon. Rayo is not going to fight until next year. He was in camp for almost 5 months, had a hard camp, he was getting ready for June 15 and was already in camp and then they changed it to August 3 and he had a long camp, so yeah Nov 2 is too soon. Next year.”

The boxing world is abuzz again, particularly around the lightweight and the light welterweight divisions. Though it remains unconfirmed, if it does turn out correct, then fans could be in for a great delight watching their icon, Gervonta Davis, step into the ring for the second time in the year. Something he hasn’t done since 2021. But the excitement isn’t limited to ‘Tank’ alone. After delivering one of the most sensational fights of the year, Isaac Cruz and Jose Valenzuela could be gearing up for a highly anticipated rematch, reigniting the rivalry they left unresolved early in August.

Fans have reason to rejoice, but they could approach the news with cautious optimism. Over a year after his emphatic win over Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis returned on June 15 to defend his title from Frank Martin. On the other hand, ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, who secured his first world title after dislodging Rolando Romero on the inaugural PBC-Amazon Prime card, had to forfeit the WBA belt to Jose Valenzuela four months later.

Excitement peaks with potential year-end showdowns

Fernando Barbosa shared a tweet with fans. It read that Gervonta Davis might fight again on November 2. However, the opponent is yet to be confirmed, it seems. Then there was news about the two newly crowned champions, the WBA super featherweight title holder Lamont Roach Jr. and the light welterweight champion Jose Valenzuela.

But the news update further added that Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz may also be lined up for a third fight this year. It might happen on the same date when ‘Tank’ Davis fights, i.e., November 2, or on PBC-Prime’s next fixture scheduled for December. So ESPN’s boxing analyst suggested there were chances of the much-needed rematch between Cruz and Valenzuela.

Lamont Roach Jr. became a champion last year after he defeated Hector Luis Garcia. He defended his title on June 28 with an eighth technical knockout victory over Feargal McCrory. ‘EL Rayo’ defeated Isaac Cruz commendably. However, the split decision victory left doubts, fueling demands for a rematch. Subsequently, reports of Cruz considering invoking his rematch clause also emerged.

Jose Valenzuela rose to the occasion and shocked the boxing world, as he battered, bruised, and outboxed Isaac Cruz. The American fighter bagged the WBA super lightweight gold as a result, and he is taking some time off before deciding on what he wants to do next. It seems the decision is out, and it might upset or cheer fans, depending on whom they support.

Valenzuela, 25, finds himself mentioned either as a logical rematch with Cruz, 26, or a stepping stone for Gervonta Davis if he finally decides to move to 140 and realize his long-muted move. However, the case is not a toss-up between the opponents. The champion wants to spend the rest of the year with family and mull over his choices, of which a rematch with ‘Pitbull’ makes more sense to him.

Fight Hook News turned to its X handle and reported that ‘El Rayo’ would not fight ‘Tank’ next and rather prefer to cherish some moments with his family. The handle also pointed out that Valenzuela, at 14-2, would return to the boxing ring in 2025 for a rematch with Cruz, at 26-3-1.

The post read, “WBA Junior Welterweight Champion Jose ‘EL Rayo’ Venezuela will Not be fighting Gervonta Tank Davis and will take off the rest of the year to spend time with family and return in 2025 for a Rematch with Pitbull. #pbcboxing #josevenezuela #elrayo #mexicanboxing #venezuelacruz2.”

While the Renton resident is away from the ring for the moment, his gritty display against Cruz remains the talk of the town. Leonard Ellerbe believed it was a long time coming, but gave full credit to Valenzuela.

No surprises for Leonard Ellerbe about Jose Valenzuela’s title win

In a conversation with Fight Hub TV, Ellerbe expressed that he watched the fight but didn’t score it. But Valenzuela had made it look easy by executing the game plan to the teeth. He said, “I didn’t really score, but he made it look easy. I fully expected Rolly to do that. But that didn’t happen. Great game plan. Just boxed the guy, turned him, made him miss, and scored.”

Interestingly, contrary to the recent report by Fight Hook News, the former Mayweather Promotions CEO didn’t shun a fight between Valenzuela and Davis. But a report by Fernando Barbosa disclosed that Davis was to return to the boxing ring on November 2. His opponent is not finalized yet. But it might be safe to say that Valenzuela might not be the one because of his family commitments.

Gervonta Davis paused for a moment before picking the best opponent he has ever faced.

The Baltimore banger has barely put a foot wrong during his unblemished 30-0 career so choosing the boxer who gave him the toughest test is no easy task.

The consensus pick among fans would be Isaac Cruz, who pushed Davis all the way to the final bell in December 2021.

But after pondering the question for a few seconds, Davis chose Ryan Garcia.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of his seventh-round stoppage victory over ‘King Ry’ last year, he said: “I’d say he’s the best fighter.

Definitely, we was going off each other energy in there.

“We was actually talking in there. You know what I mean? It was fun.

“It was fun while it lasted. You know what I mean? I enjoyed every moment of it.”

Davis’ pick may come as somewhat of a surprise considering the manner in which he dealt with his rival.

Garcia had his moments but he eventually succumbed to a sickening body shot knockout after falling behind on all three judges scorecards.

“I just felt like I was like a step, a level above him,” Davis added.

“You know what I mean? So, everything he was doing in the ring, I was already aware of everything.

“I was already aware a couple steps before he did it.

“So, I was mostly calm and just let him make his mistakes and I just, you know, yeah, I countered off his mistakes.”

After beating Garcia, Davis spent 44 days in prison for violating the terms of a sentence, which initially saw him avoid jail time.

In May last year, Davis was sentenced to 90 days of home detention, three years probation, and 200 hours of community service over his November 2020 hit-and-run car crash which injured four people.

‘Tank’ was later found guilty of violating the terms of his home detention by trying to serve the home detention order at the Four Seasons Hotel and a $3.4million penthouse, rather than trainer Calvin Ford’s house as the judge initially agreed.

As a result, he was ordered to serve the rest of his 90-day sentence in jail.

After his release, Davis returned to the ring against Frank Martin in June 2024 – a fight he won via eighth-round KO.

Consequently, Martin couldn’t be considered in Davis’ ‘toughest opponent’ debate, although he was far more complimentary about Garcia’s abilities than ‘The Ghost’s’.

Can Gervonta Davis close the distance and land significantly on the defensively elite Shakur Stevenson? That’s the question that one of the best fights in boxing boils down to.

‘Tank’ Davis has stopped 28 out of 30 opponents. At the other end of the scale, Stevenson has a less than 50% knockout ratio but wins bouts comfortably over the distance.

Both men are undefeated and currently hold world titles in the lightweight division. Together, they are two halves of one of the most difficult to call match-ups in the sport.

Asked by Fight Hub TV to predict how a tournament would turn out with all the best 135 and 140 pounders – Davis, Stevenson, Devin Haney, Subriel Matias, Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia – former trainer to Gennady Golovkin, Abel Sanchez, said Davis beats them all.

“Matias and Gervonta are in the final … Shakur doesn’t have the pop that Davis has. He doesn’t have the pop that Matias has.

I think [Tank is the best of them all.] I think that [Tank] has what I would love to have in all my fighters, he’s got a [Roberto] Duran rage in my opinion. None of these [other] guys have that. Yes, he’s a little short, but when you’ve got that Duran rage, he wants to hurt you … The other guys, they don’t have that rage and I think that’s very important in a fighter.

Unfortunately for fans, the fight is set to marinate longer. Despite both recently coming off title defences in the same period and looking for opponents, talks failed to materialised and Stevenson, now signed with Matchroom, will face former super-featherweight world champion Joe Cordina on October 12.

His team want to get that win before facing William Zepeda and then Davis, who is slated for a November return with an opponent as yet unannounced.