Shakur Stevenson already knows the manner in which he can hang a victory over Gervonta Davis should the two ever meet in the ring.
Stevenson, the recently unified 130-pound champion from Newark, New Jersey, was ringside for Davis’ sixth-round stoppage of Rolando Romero in their WBA lightweight title fight back in May at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Following the win, the southpaw Stevenson offered a straightforward strategy of how to defuse the Baltimore puncher.
“Yeah, just don’t get knocked out,” Stevenson told Seconds Out with a smile. “That’s the game plan with him. I feel you gotta go in there and be aware for all 12 rounds that he’s got power in both hands and you gotta watch his power.
“At the end of the day you gotta stay on your feet and someone like me, I’ll be good.”
Regarded as one of the most defensively capable and elusive fighters in the ring today, Stevenson is coming off a banner win in April, a dominant decision over Oscar Valdez in their 12-round, 130-pound unification title bout. Per usual, Stevenson put on a boxing clinic against the tough-as-nails and previously undefeated Valdez.
Unlike Davis’ past few opponents, including Romero, Stevenson, 24, feels he would be able to give Davis, 27, fits with his style.
“I know how to hit and don’t get hit,” Stevenson said. “He’s (Davis) not going to land an easy shot on me. It’s going to be harder to land a shot on me than it is to land a shot on them.”
A fight between Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) and Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) figures to be little more than a pipe dream at this point, given their affiliations with competing entities’ Stevenson is backed by Top Rank Inc., while Davis is represented by Mayweather Promotions and Premier Boxing Champions.
Stevenson conceded that he is not Davis’ equal when it comes to punching power, but he nevertheless warned that his punches have to be respected.
“I probably don’t, but I have enough to make sure that he honest,” Stevenson said. “He’s not just going to walk in there and walk through me, I know that. Nobody does.”
Stevenson is back in the fall, when he defends his belts against Olympic gold medal winner Robson Conceicao on September 23 from the Prudential Center in Stevenson’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey.