Former welterweight champion Shawn Porter views a potential showdown between Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Shakur Stevenson as the best possible fight to be made in the sport of boxing.
Davis was in action back in April, when he picked up one of the biggest wins of his career with a seventh round knockout of Ryan Garcia in a major pay-per-view showcase. The Showtime PPV generated over 1.2 million purchases.
Stevenson was also in action in the month of April, when he wiped out Shuichiro Yoshino of Japan in a WBC world title eliminator.
Both Davis and Stevenson are in line for mandatory cracks at current undisputed world champion Devin Haney, who may or may not remain in the lightweight division.
Should Haney leave to 140, then Davis, who holds the WBA’s ‘regular’ belt, would be elevated by the sanctioning body to ‘super’ champion status.
And Haney’s departure would see Stevenson collide with the highest ranked opponent for the vacant WBC strap. The likely contender to face him is Top Rank stablemate Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Most observers view Davis vs. Stevenson as a future mega-fight – and Porter agrees.
“When I look at the way both fighters box, I think it’s a match made in heaven,” said Porter on his Porter Way podcast.
“It’s the best fight in boxing to be made and I think it will happen next year. There is a specific recipe required, I believe, to beat Tank, and I honestly believe that Shakur has the gifts, the talent, the athleticism, everything, within that recipe.”
Davis and Stevenson are both expected to return in the fall. At the moment, their immediate futures might depend on Haney’s final decision when it comes to his current title reign at 135-pounds.