Raymond Ford says Gervonta Davis could be an ‘easier’ fight for Shakur Stevenson than his bout against William Zepeda earlier this month. Ford believes that Tank Davis’ low output form of loading up on single power shots could be an easy one for Shakur (24-, 11 KOs) to neutralize in comparison with the Zepeda fight.
Stevenson’s Pocket Fighting Style
“I expected that performance. He got here in there and did what he was doing all camp, sitting within the pocket, beating guys up at their very own game,” said Raymond Ford to Fighthype, when asked if he was surprised at how Shakur Stevenson beat William Zepeda.
Stevenson needed to fight like that. Even when he ran, Zepeda would cut off the ring, hit him to the body shots, and make him look bad. Furthermore, Turki Alalshikh had warned fighters ahead of time that he would now not “Support’ fighters that use the Tom and Jerry style. Shakur’s bread and butter is fighting within the Jerry style, and at all times has since his amateur days.
“Shakur has been doing that. He just hasn’t been showing that in his fights, but within the gym, he’s been sitting within the pocket and stuff. I just got a glimpse to see among the things that he can do,” said Ford.
Ford and Shakur have trained at the identical gym up to now. Raymond said this about Stevenson: “[He’s] more of a friend and a giant brother.” It’s unclear if Ford’s friendship plays an element in his views about him, and he would do against Tank Davis.
Zepeda Forced Pocket Fighting
“Yeah, also, William Zepeda is a fighter that isn’t going to help you box the entire night. So in points within the fight, you’re going to should box, and points within the fight, you’re going to have to sit down there within the pocket with him a little bit bit,” said Ford.
If Shakur ran, Zepeda would have hit him within the breadbasket, and that will have forced him to stop. Taking body shots while moving is difficult since it’s hard to brace for the punches. Stevenson was well aware of that and didn’t dare take the danger.
“I felt he fought the right fight. He got the job done. He looked beautiful doing it,” Ford said about Shakur in his fight against Zepeda.
What’s Ford talking about? That wasn’t “beautiful” the way in which that Stevenson fought. He resembled a sparring partner, pinned against the ropes, attempting to protect his head the entire time, and getting hit to the body. The variety of body shots Shakur was getting hit with was countless. That was NOT beautiful unless we’ve modified our definition of lovely to mean ‘ugly.’ Zepeda landed over 300 punches, with most of the connecting to the body.
Ford: Davis Easier Than Zepeda
“I believe styles make fights. He could make the fight easier than the William Zepeda fight,” said Ford on how Shakur would do against Gervonta Davis. “Tank, he doesn’t throw as many punches for one. He [Stevenson] doesn’t should worry in regards to the output, getting drained, or anything like that.”
It will NOT be a neater fight for Shakur going up against Tank Davis than Zepeda, because he could be forced to run for 12 rounds. One slip up, and he’d get knocked out. If Stevenson ran, the group would boo, and Turki Alalshikh would likely be furious at ringside. He’d have paid Shakur thousands and thousands, only to see him ignore his directive against Tom and Jerry fights, and stay on the move all the fight.
“The one thing he has to fret about is one big shot. Tank is attempting to land one big shot and set him up. I feel like Shakur is used to seeing that, and that’ll be easy for him,” said Ford.
Shakur has only fought one big puncher in his eight-year skilled profession, Edwin De Los Santos. So, you’ll be able to’t say that he’s “used to seeing that” form of fighting. He ran all the fight against De Los Santos and will have easily lost resulting from his low output.
De Los Santos landed all the toughest punches in each round. Normally, the judges give it to the fighter who lands the cleaner, harder shots. In that case, they diverted from that practice to provide it to the A-side fighter, Stevenson.
Last Updated on 07/30/2025