Shakur Stevenson admits he’s accepted the reality that he may never step into a ring with Gervonta Davis.
A Davis-Stevenson fight is one of the most sought-after match-ups in the sport and would be a unification clash at lightweight.
‘Tank’ though has opted to face Jake Paul in an exhibition on November 14 in Miami and many have questioned whether he still has the hunger to compete against the elite names.
Three-division champion, Stevenson is in talks to challenge Teofimo Lopez for his WBO super lightweight title and concedes a showdown with Davis may never come to fruition.
“I came to terms with accepting that the fight may not ever happen,” the 28-year-old told Ring Champs with Ak and Barak.
“It is what it is.
“Not even just the Jake Paul fight.
“He don’t want it like me, I really want this s***.
“When I say want this, I’m not talking about money, I want to be the best.
“That Mount Rushmore that they put those guys there.
“They put Sweet Pea [Pernell Whitaker], Terence [Crawford], Floyd [Mayweather]. Put me right next to them.”
Davis faces Paul in a controversial clash set for 195lbs – 60 pounds heavier than Tank’s usual weight of 135lbs.
The 30-year-old came face-to-face with ‘The Problem Child’ at a series of press conferences this week and was pressed by reporters over his decision to face the YouTuber-turned-boxer over Stevenson and a rematch with Lamont Roach, who he drew with in March.
Stevenson retained his WBC lightweight crown with a points win over William Zepeda in July, a performance ‘Tank’ was unimpressed by.
“Didn’t he just have a fight [Stevenson]?” Davis said.
“And what happened?
“He won right? But how did he look in it?
“Exactly.
“But y’all say some different s*** when it’s me right? Because y’all want me to lose.”
Davis suffered the first blemish of his career against Roach and was deemed fortunate to not walk away with a first professional loss after taking a knee in the ninth round, which was not ruled a knockdown.
Stevenson says he can’t blame his rival for opting to face Paul, but admits he would probably have chosen to rematch Roach.
“As a fighter, just because I had a draw with somebody, for me I may run it back,” he added.
“But in a business aspect and you lose to Lamont and the Jake Paul fight is presented, you may not make as much money or the fight may not be as lucrative as it was before you lost.
“As a business I understand it, I’m not going to hate on the decision.”
