Shakur Stevenson's decision to defend his WBC lightweight title against the unnamed Joe Cordina next is believed to be a ploy to boost his faltering status in order to better negotiate a unification fight with WBA champion Gervonta 'Tank' Davis next year. .
Using Cordina, 32, as a tool to get a better deal against Tank Davis will end. It will go back because of the huge backlash that has arisen from this selection. This is as low as you can get.
Handpicked from the 130-lb Division
It is seen as a low move by Shakur to raid the 130 lb division, choosing a fighter who was not only knocked out in his previous fight but completely dominated the entire fight against Anthony Cacace last May. Cordina was out of his league in that fight, getting hammered by the quick, agile, and skilled Cacace.
Shakur should have chosen these fighters:
– William Zepeda
– Abdullah Mason
– Raymond Muratalla
– Andy Cruz
– Keyshawn Davis: *Put friendship aside for good money
As it stands, Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) is coming off back-to-back bad fights against Artem Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos, and is in no position to negotiate a better deal. So, he chose lightweight Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) to make himself look good.
Shakur should look like pure 24k gold against Cordina, who hasn't been that great but has been smartly tipped by his promoter, Eddie Hearn, to hold the IBF title against Kenichi Ogawa in 2022.
Zepeda: A Reality Check
In order for Shakur to get a better financial deal against Tank Davis, it would require a win over #1 William Zepeda in 2025. Cordina is a waste of time. Zepeda will likely beat Shakur unless we see another song and field come together like we saw in Shakur's questionable win over Edwin De Los Santos last November in Las Vegas.
Shakur can't do another job like that if he wants to raise his stock to negotiate a fight with Tank Davis on favorable terms.
If Shakur looks bad in attempts to beat Zepeda and Cordina, he should continue to threaten the match to fight someone he can beat and look good against. Besides, he won't get the 50-50 split he expects from Tank Davis if he continues to play poorly.
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