These days, there are conflicting rumors about the future of Shakur Stevenson, who, after fighting for the last time under Bob Arum’s Top Rank, has become a free agent and is exploring the most enticing offers from various promoters.
Yesterday morning, IFL TV spread what seemed to be a real bombshell by announcing on its channels that Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta Davis had reached an agreement for a historic world unification fight to be held on November 23 in Las Vegas. The news sent countless fans into a frenzy, but some expressed skepticism about its veracity since the main insiders following international boxing, who usually break this kind of scoop, remained silent.
Gradually, the first denials came in, including from the two boxers themselves. American journalist Dan Rafael also wrote on social media that he contacted the parties and learned that the information published by IFL TV was not true.
To further complicate the situation (or perhaps to untangle it), the well-known news site Boxing Scene reported in an article published last night that Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda had reached a verbal agreement to fight on the undercard of Bivol vs. Beterbiev on October 12 in Riyadh. According to what has been reconstructed by the site’s editorial staff, Stevenson was first contacted by PBC representatives to gauge his availability to fight Davis. After his assent, however, the promised phone call to start the actual negotiation never came, prompting the American boxer to move in another direction after a week of waiting.
As specified by Boxing Scene, the agreement reached between Stevenson and Zepeda is only a preliminary step since the economic details have not yet been negotiated; it will probably take several days before the fight can be officially announced. We will see if this surprise move by Stevenson prompts Gervonta Davis and his team to present a concrete offer soon or if the anticipated unification fight will be further postponed.