Former four-division boxing champion Mikey Garcia believes a showdown between Gervonta “The Tank” Davis and Vasily Lomachenko will bring boxing a better fight than Davis vs. Shakur Steen. Vincent’s matchup was even more exciting.
Garcia told Fight that Davis, 30, who is currently scheduled to face Lamont Roach, 29, in a lightweight title fight on March 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, should next Face Lomachenko first. Center TV.
“I do believe Shakur Stevenson is a great fighter,” Garcia said in the interview. “He’s got the skills, he’s got the talent and he’s a great boxer. He’s got the footwork, the speed, the reflexes and the counter-attacking ability.
“But I don’t like his fights because Shakur Stevenson is the type of fighter who’s going to box no matter what the critics or the fans want to see. I’d rather see Tank fight someone else – like Lomachenko, because I know he’s here to fight, even though he has great footwork and speed and everything.”
It’s unclear whether a fight between Baltimore’s Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) and Ukraine’s Lomachenko (36) is still a possibility — especially after their proposed fight in November fell through after. Lomachenko, a three-division champion who currently holds the lightweight belt, has yet to defend his title eight months after wresting it from George Kambosos Jr. in an 11th-round stoppage victory.
Lomachenko, 18-3 (12 KOs), failed to meet an initial 60-day medical extension that expired on Jan. 11, forcing the IBF to order contender Raymond Muratalla (No. 2) and Zal Abdullayev (No. 4) competed for the interim title.
But Stevenson, who is 22-0 (12 KOs) and is preparing to defend his lightweight title against Floyd Schofield on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has his own warn. Garcia said Stevenson, who was criticized for his overly passive fighting style in his wins over Edwin de los Santos and Artem Harutunyan (as well as other fights), must change his approach in order to versus Davis.
“For Tank, it’s not going to be that exciting against Shakur Stevenson,” Garcia said. “I think that’s why he’s going to have a hard time getting into some of the big matches. But in that Before, I thought tanks shouldn’t fight him or anyone who didn’t pose a serious threat.”
Of course, Davis must first defeat Roach, 25-1-1 (10 KOs) in Washington, D.C., before he can consider facing Lomachenko, Stevenson or any other opponent. Given Davis’ vast experience, skill and strength, Garcia believes he will make it difficult for Roach – who will challenge Davis at 135.
“He’s probably going to win this fight, too,” Garcia said. “He’s proven himself.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist specializing in boxing coverage. For many years, he wrote a boxing column titled “From the Ring” in his native Ghana. You can contact him at X (formerly Twitter) @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn Bernard Neequaye and email bernardneequaye@gmail.com.
