Jake Paul has enlisted the help of Shakur Stevenson for his upcoming exhibition fight against Gervonta Davis on November 14.
The move could be seen as a battle of mind games, especially since Tank has been accused of ducking Shakur. Paul revealed that his decision to bring in fighters like Shakur was to focus on his speed, rather than the actual size difference. Stevenson is known for being one of the slickest boxers out there, with an impressive defensive skillset. Other fighters to have joined Paul include Ray Ford and Montana Love, showing that Paul is taking this seriously.
“We have world champions. Ray Ford from the 130-pound weight class. We’ve got Montana Love, and Shakur Stevenson is coming in this week. So, there’s sparring against guys on his level and people who have been doing this their whole entire lives, but we’re really focusing on speed and not as much on power. I’m not doing as much weight lifting and all of that stuff. I’m kind of like losing some muscle so that I’ll have less weight and my punches are coming off faster,” Paul said
Robert Garcia has weighed in on the Paul-Davis fight, saying that Tank has not challenged himself. Garcia felt that Davis not yet reached the point in his career where he can afford to take these type of fights. Davis was criticized for not rematching Lamont Roach Jr. after their controversial majority draw in March. The referee’s failure to give Roach a 10-8 round after Davis took a voluntary knee in round nine prevented Roach from getting the win.
The Paul fight will see Tank move up from 135 to face Paul at a 195-lb catchweight. The fight drew a strong response, with many calling out Davis for not facing other fighters in and around his weight class. A unification with Shakur Stevenson, the WBC Lightweight Champion, was possible. Meanwhile, Davis could also have moved up to 140 to face the WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Teofimo Lopez. Unlike Floyd Mayweather, who went on to have many exhibitions, he only did so after amassing a 50-0 record by beating the best in his era.
“Everybody has done it. Mayweather has done it, Ali has done it. The only thing in my personal opinion is that they all did it when they had accomplished so much. I think Tank never gave us the fights we really wanted. He never really challenged himself. He didn’t give Roach that rematch, which he should have. Mayweather did it when he had a hard time with Maidana and Castillo, right away. He did the rematches to prove everybody wrong,” Garcia said
