Shakur Stevenson and Keyshawn Davis won't be fighting each other anytime soon

IN ORDER to get in the ring and actually fight and look like he's hurting someone, a boxer will try – and need – to be passive. Ideally, they will see them as mere opponents, a cardboard cutout that they must, in the name of their work, knock down. But if there are emotions involved, the next best thing for a boxer is to dislike his opponent and use this hostility as fuel, or motivation.

One thing is for sure don't do it wanting to feel loved by their enemy. They find themselves in this position and not only is it likely that they will struggle to pull the trigger when the time comes, but there is every chance that by hesitating, or showing compassion, they will also be vulnerable and there for the taking.

Often it is for this reason that friends do not fight; not unless there is a large sum of money offered for them to do so, that is. It should not, they say; it's not worth doing harm to someone you love and you don't deserve to be disabled for not being able to hurt someone you love.

This, after all, is not a game of tennis or darts. On the contrary, in boxing, a sport that encourages and rewards the doing of damage, there is no sense of friendly competition. Actually, it's a very difficult game to play. It's a very dangerous game. It's a very destructive game.

Which is probably why lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Keyshawn Davis, although competing in the same weight class, are not interested in fighting each other in the near future. Of course, with the two fighting this Saturday (July 6) in Newark, New Jersey, thinking this is the start of a collision course would be a stretch of the imagination. Instead, these two lightweights are friends and friends, according to Keyshawn Davis, who will stay, despite his desire to get the world title at 135 pounds.

“We don't have to do something we don't want to do,” said Davis, 10-0 (7), Debate News when asked about a possible fight against Stevenson. “Shakur and I are family.”

Going back to their artist days, Stevenson and Davis, both Olympic silver medalists, have always been close and this is clearly still the case as professionals.

On Saturday, Davis will fight Miguel Madueno for 10 rounds, hoping to improve his record to 11-0, while Stevenson, in the main event, will defend his WBC lightweight title against Artem Harutyunyan, a fight that Davis will be watching. a friend instead of a future adversary.

Besides, if it won't be Stevenson himself who one day steps down from the throne, there are, due to the fractured nature of boxing's world titles, other options available to Davis. There is, for example, Gervonta “Tank” Davis or Vasiliy Lomachenko. Both currently hold the lightweight belts – Davis of the WBA; Lomachenko of the IBF – and both clearly represent the type of test that Davis, known as “The Businessman”, says he is ready for. “Tank and Lomachenko are currently the best in the lightweight division,” said the 25-year-old player. “They have all the experience, all the battles, and they've been doing this for a long time and they've been winning. Both have been fighting at the top level for a long time. They will definitely be my two toughest opponents.

“Whatever world title comes my way, I will take it. I've never been a world champion before at the professional level, so whoever's going to give me a shot I'm going to take.”