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After Gervonta Davis Threatens Boxing Commentator, Shakur Stevenson Follows Suit by Banning Him From All His Events

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Gervonta Davis

A boxing commentator, who goes by the social media handle 2ToneDaSupastar, found himself in hot waters with Gervonta Davis not so long ago. But to make matters worse, Shakur Stevenson has now banned the commentator, following suit. However, the question is, how did it all begin?

Everything started when Errol Spence Jr. was ringside during the Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora fight. After Fundora’s surprise victory, Spence wanted to fight him for the WBC and WBO belts. However, 2ToneDaSupastar suggested Spence should fight Davis as a tune-up fight. This, of course, enraged Davis, who responded by stating, “Ima beat yo fat a** when I catch you, omm.” Regardless, it still didn’t answer the question: Why did Shakur Stevenson ban him from his fights as well?

Boxing commentator insists on Shakur Stevenson running it back

Boxing commentator 2ToneDaSupastar threw some shade today, suggesting that certain fighters, perhaps including Shakur Stevenson, like to boast about their skills but crumble under pressure. Stevenson, clearly not a fan of this critique, fired back accusing 2Tone of bias.

Undeterred, 2Tone referenced Edwin De Los Santos, Stevenson’s last opponent against whom he suffered to earn a decisive win, hinting that perhaps Stevenson should have a rematch and focus on proving himself in the ring rather than arguing with the commentator.

When Stevenson questioned why the commentator thought other fighters shouldn’t have to have a rematch while Stevenson should, 2ToneDaSupastar wrote, “You think everyone [is] trolling when they criticize you for not running back with Edwin? That [Edwin fight is about your] legacy.” Following some responses from other fans, the commentator reiterated, “We [want to] see it, bro.” This angered Shakur Stevenson who then responded by stating to the commentator, “Don’t come to no fights, fat man.”

While Stevenson is clearly not willing to fight De Los Santos for a rematch, he has promised a spectacular showing in his next fight.

Stevenson to face German professional boxer

According to Mike Coopeninger from ESPN, Stevenson is slated to fight Artem Harutyunyan on July 6 in Stevenson’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey. The fight will have ‘Sugar’ Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title on the line, but nothing has been officially announced. Despite that, Stevenson has dropped hints about his performance in the next fight.

In a tweet, Stevenson wrote, “We could fast-forward time to July 6th. Lol, I’m in Grind mode. [I have] been feeling like myself in the gym every day, and I’m not even in fight shape. He better bring everything he [has because] I’m coming to get him.” This fight will mark Stevenson’s last fight as part of Top Rank Promotions as he transitions into a free agent.

With that said, it looks like 2ToneDaSupastar will have to miss out on several blockbuster fights from Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta Davis. However, the bigger question is, will Shakur Stevenson be able to redeem himself in his upcoming fight?

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BOXING

Paulie Malignaggi’s Picks: Forget Spence and Crawford, Tszyu Deserves Fundora Rematch

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Tim Tzsyu

For Sebastian Fundora and his team, it could come down to what’s more important to him – money, or ethics.

Tim Tszyu rescued the launch of Premier Boxing Champions on Amazon Prime by agreeing to fight him after Keith Thurman, a very different fighter, withdrew through injury. He was also paid less money for the privilege. If he hadn’t done so, the entire card was at risk of being pulled.

I don’t think Fundora would have beaten Tszyu if Tszyu hadn’t got so horrible a cut. I also don’t think he’d beat him in a rematch if Tszyu has a full training camp to prepare for him – or beat Errol Spence, if Spence still has enough left. The danger of defeat exists, regardless of which of the three – Terence Crawford has also been spoken about – likely opponents Fundora fights next.

None of that is to say that Fundora’s a bad fighter. He’s actually a very good one. But Tszyu, Crawford and potentially Spence – who appears a favourite of PBC – are all very difficult opponents.

A rematch between Tszyu and Fundora would be a much bigger fight than their first one was. The drama that unfolded in Las Vegas makes a rematch seem very logical, but Fundora’s next move could yet be heavily influenced by PBC, or by Amazon Prime. When I was still an active fighter there was a lot of momentum for a rematch between me and Adrien Broner, but the promoter and TV network decided to take Broner in another direction and six months later got Broner beat – so regardless of the optics to the naked eye, the existence of momentum can count for little.

It’s not so long ago we were being told that Crawford was being stripped of his IBF welterweight title because of Spence’s desire to activate his clause for a rematch between them. Today, they seem likelier to fight Fundora than each other, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Spence isn’t targeting Fundora, and his WBO and WBC light-middleweight titles, to strengthen his hand before a future date with Crawford. Outside of Spence and perhaps Tszyu, Crawford doesn’t seem to have a big-money fight at 154lbs, which doesn’t make Fundora seem a likely next move for him, even if winning a world title in another weight division enhances his legacy.

At a time when there’s speculation surrounding Spence’s relationship with Derrick James it’s worth acknowledging the success they’ve had together. I don’t see why a loss to a fighter like Crawford should affect their chemistry; I also don’t see what a fighter as developed as Spence is going to change at the age of 34.

Similarly, there’s no need for a big rebuild in Tszyu’s career after a defeat like that. The obvious move for him is a rematch with Fundora. There are a lot of moving parts that need to be in the right place for that rematch to happen, but with the momentum behind it and how entertained people were by their first fight – plus with the narrative that exists off the back of their first fight – an immediate rematch should, regardless of how often fighters receive what they deserve, happen next.

If the rematch happens, and Tszyu impresses and wins, a fight between him and either Spence or Crawford is bigger than a fight between either of those two and Fundora. If he doesn’t impress then a third fight with Fundora could even be an option. There seems too little reason for Fundora-Tszyu II not to happen in the coming months.

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua Admits To Being Affected By Tyson Fury’s ‘Personal’ Attacks

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Anthony and Tyson

Anthony Joshua insists that he is not insulted by rival Tyson Fury’s ongoing verbal jabbing and jiving, and intends to use it as motivation if the pair ever grace the ring together.

After Fury was forced to relinquish his IBF heavyweight title, which he claimed after defeating Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, he began berating Joshua following the latter’s win over Charles Martin in 2016 to claim that same belt.

Personal issues on Fury’s side, alongside anti-doping discrepancies, saw him fighting demons in the wilderness before he eventually returned to action in 2018.

The two British rivals had reportedly been close to agreeing to terms on a blockbuster pay-per-view encounter on separate occasions. First, in 2020, Fury claimed a deal had been struck between the pair – but without disclosing details other than that the fight would take place in 2021. The announcement of the proposed deal caused a stir, as Fury acknowledged the controversial Daniel Kinahan for his apparent role in negotiations between the feuding rivals.

Court action from Deontay Wilder in 2021 derailed the prospect of Joshua sharing a ring with his domestic rival, as former WBC titleholder Wilder successfully enforced his contractual obligations to a trilogy fight with “The Gypsy King.” Fury and Wilder had been set to fight a third time, in July 2021, but did not proceed due to Fury contracting COVID-19. Wilder’s successful court action to enforce his legal rights brought heavy speculation to a close regarding the possibility of a fight between Fury and Joshua in the later months of 2021.

After Joshua’s back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk, Fury and promoter Frank Warren attempted to strike a deal for Fury to defend his WBC world heavyweight title against Joshua in December of 2022, at Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Despite Joshua having verbally agreed to face Fury, negotiations ultimately collapsed due to differing opinions on the financial terms of the fight.

When talks with his counterpart collapsed, Fury decided to face Dereck Chisora for a third time, in December 2022.

Joshua, in a recent appearance on “The Jonathan Ross Show,” said he will use Fury’s regular taunts as motivation if the fighters do eventually come to blows in the ring.

“He is one of my rivals,” Joshua said of Fury. “This is someone I want to compete with one day.

“So everything he says, I’ve got it all stored in the back of my memory. And when the fight happens, I’m going to use it as a lot of fuel.”

Joshua, a former unified heavyweight champion, admitted to Ross that he has been personally affected by Fury’s taunts, insisting that he will “punish” Fury for his public comments about Joshua in recent years.

“One-hundred percent,” Joshua said. “You take it personally and you meditate on it. You want to punish them for what they said about you

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BOXING

Oleksandr Usyk Expects a Different Tyson Fury on May 18

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OLeksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury

Unified heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk is solely focused on his May 18 Saudi Arabia date with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

The clash was postponed from February after Fury sustained a cut as the fight date neared, and while other members of Usyk’s camp still have their doubts about the bout happening, Usyk is under no illusions that he will face the lineal champion next month.

“No, I’m not thinking about this [the fight not happening],” Usyk said. “I don’t because I think the fight will [happen].

“My focus is my training. My focus is my family. My focus is my team. I’ve not used Instagram never, now. Now it’s bad for me. It’s a waste of time. I read my books, I speak with my family…. My focus is my camp. I don’t read the news, I don’t watch the world news, I’m only here. It’s my preparation. My focus is only May 18, only Ring of Fire [the name of the show].”

Speaking to Seconds Out, Usyk added that he and fellow Ukrainian and former Fury foe Wladimir Klitschko had spoken about the fight, but he did not disclose the nature of their conversation, and Usyk – like many others – felt Fury took his last opponent, Francis Ngannou, too lightly, which almost ended with Fury on the wrong end of one of the biggest sporting upsets in history. Instead, Fury won a close decision last October.

“Tyson Fury will be different with my fight because it’s my opinion Tyson Fury, when boxing with Francis Ngannou, maybe [he was thinking] it’s a UFC guy, blah, blah, blah,” Usyk said. “’I win, it’s an easy fight.’ It’s my opinion. I don’t know. Maybe it’s true, maybe not, but I know that Tyson Fury will be different with me.”

Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, is 37-years-old and 21-0 (14 KOs), and the southpaw last fought scoring a stoppage of Daniel Dubois in Poland last September.

Before that, there were two fights and victories over Anthony Joshua, and after Joshua’s recent form his promoter Eddie Hearn said he would like Joshua to have a third fight with Usyk.

“Eddie Hearn is a lot of speak [talk],” smiled Usyk.

Following the second loss, Joshua vented his frustrations and subsequently sent apologies to Usyk for his behavior through former champion Klitschko.

“Yes, definitely,” Usyk said, confirming that he had received them. “Listen, I don’t have bad feelings about Joshua because I respect this man. He’s a great man, a great boxer,  a great person, Olympic champion, two-time world champion but I think it’s emotion. You know, I respect this man, no problem.”

Usyk – who has a dream of a homecoming world heavyweight title fight in Ukraine – has said before that he prefers to use his craft to outbox opponents, rather than stop them, because of the potential for injury, but he added that his ultimate goal is victory.

“If I can do a KO, I will, if I can do 12 rounds, I do 12 rounds. My goal is to win. How it will be, it’s God’s will.”

Will he target the area where Fury was cut?

“My strategy is win. Enough.”

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BOXING

WBC president wants to revolutionize boxing with unprecedented move for Usyk vs Fury

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Oleksandr Usyk

Boxing has always been filled with controversy, whether it has been warranted or not. Judging the sport is a subjective process, which sometimes leads to confounding scorecards.

Despite that, many believe some fights are rigged for the benefit of certain fighters or promotions. That’s why many are always worried when huge fights come down to the judges’ scorecards.

6 judges for Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury?

With a massive undsiputed title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury looming, WBC president Mauricio Sulaimain wants to take all precautionary measures. He spoke to BoxingScene in a candid interview.

Sulaiman wants six judges for the Usyk-Fury fight, in order to avoid any type of unjust decision.

The WBC president was clearly not thrilled with the scorecards from the Isaac Cruz vs. Rolly Romero fight, where judge Chris Flores actually had Romero ahead before Cruz’s stoppage win. Flores has come under a ton of criticism, as the two other judges had Cruz up by several rounds.

Subjectivity in boxing can be a good thing, but not when it starts to get fishy.

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BOXING

Terence Crawford Goes Toe-To-Toe With Shakur Stevenson but Outside a Boxing Ring

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Shakur

Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson are more than just boxing champions. They’re almost family. This bond between them transcends blood, forged in the crucible of countless sparring sessions and a shared devotion to their inner circles. Crawford, the elder by eight years, is Stevenson’s “big brother” both inside and outside the ring. Stevenson, Crawford’s “little brother,” is a constant presence by his side.

When Stevenson clinched his first world title, Crawford was there, celebrating ringside. And when Crawford emerged victorious from his epic battle with Errol Spence Jr, Stevenson rode shotgun on his hometown parade float, pride etched on his face. This bond fuels them both. Moreover, they also help each other with their sparring sessions, and they’ve recently even challenged each other in a different sport as well.

Shakur Stevenson scores on Terence Crawford

Besides being the former undisputed champion, Terence Crawford’s tales of being great at ping-pong wouldn’t be a surprise to a lot of people. There have been many moments when the boxer is seen handling his business on the ping-pong table well. That’s exactly what happened recently too. Crawford and Stevenson were seen slugging it out on a ping-pong table

The snippet of a game was posted by a person who was in the room, and it was shared by Terence Crawford on his Instagram Story. In the video, Stevenson and Crawford were locked in a friendly ping-pong battle at the end of which Shakur Stevenson visibly made a score against Terence Crawford. Their passion for the game isn’t exactly breaking news; social media has been buzzing with glimpses of their table tennis prowess for quite some time now. They even chimed in during the famous ping-pong face-off between Floyd Mayweather and Usher.

At that time, they also promised to show the 50-0 boxing champion how to properly play the game. Well, Stevenson agreed as well.

Floyd Mayweather gets called out by Terence Crawford, but not for a boxing match

Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. found himself facing an unexpected challenge – on the ping-pong table, that is. In a playful exchange on social media, Mayweather shared a video of himself defeating R&B star Usher in a game of table tennis. Mayweather, ever the showman, couldn’t resist a bit of friendly bragging, prompting a hilarious back-and-forth with fellow champions Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevens

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BOXING

Holmes & Holyfield, Tszyu’s Cut, Crawford’s Future And The Perfect Fighting Machine

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Terence Crawford

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen “Breadman” Edwards giving his thoughts on the legacies of Holmes and Holyfield, Tim Tszyu’s cut, Crawford’s next steps, and creating a perfect fighter.

Hi Breadman,

I pray God is blessing and continues to bless you and your family and the fans of your mailbag and their families.

The current new trend is to say that Larry Holmes is boxing’s most underrated fighter. I beg to differ. I must go with Evander Holyfield. Larry Holmes has too many misses for me.

He missed fights with Foreman, Frazier, Young, Lyle, Quarry, Page, Dokes, Coetzee, Tate,   Pinklon Thomas, Tillis.

I’m not saying he would have lost but we will never know because the fights didn’t happen. I really would have loved to see him vs Thomas, Dokes, Page and those fights should have happened because all of them were under the Don King promotions.

Those fights could have been made unlike some of the others. Totally unimpressed with his victory over Cooney because to me Cooney was a very overhyped prospect who beat some over the hill fighters in Norton, Young and Lyle.

All were well past it when Cooney beat them. Cooney lost to Spinks and Foreman in his biggest fights and was vastly overrated in my eyes.

Holmes lost to Spinks twice although he was robbed in the second fight. He went life and death with Norton, Witherspoon and Willams. I thought he won barely vs Norton but felt he lost vs Witherspoon and Willams. Of course, he lost to Tyson but fought valiantly against Holyfield. The most impressive performance to me was his fight against Mercer. I thought Mercer was going to kill him and he beat the brakes off Mercer and his performance against McCall was impressive and a debatable win for McCall.

Holyfield is great and superior to Tyson but was overshadowed by Tyson’s persona. Holyfield is very similar to Hitman Hearns; they are great in the ring but don’t articulate well which does matter.

People love trash talkers. All you have to do to see that is look at Rolly Romero who is very limited but gets good paydays based on his talking and not his lousy performances. Holyfield fought better fighters in Lewis, Bowe, Tyson, and others and doesn’t get the respect he deserves.

What really hurt me is the way they robbed him against Nikolai Valuev. He deserved that victory but the powers that be wanted him out and always go with the younger prospect in those situations. Holyfield, like Roy Jones, is being punished for the end of his career losing fights to Donald and Byrd. He is the best cruiserweight I’ve ever seen and one of the most courageous and best fighters I’ve seen. I love the guy. A true warrior who to me is truly undervalued and could have fought and done well in any era. Holmes is a great fighter also, but I think he has been called underrated so much that he has become a bit overrated to me.

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BOXING

Joshua, Fury fight would earn £100m – Hearn

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Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is confident that the British-Nigerian and Tyson Fury would easily earn at least £100m each from fighting one other as the heavyweights could meet in the ring later this year or in 2025, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

First, Fury faces unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on May 18 for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Delayed from 17 February due to a cut Fury sustained during training camp, it is due to be the first of a two-fight deal agreed in November last year.

Coming through both of those bouts unbeaten would set the stage for a much-anticipated meeting with Joshua. In the meantime, the two-time champion will seemingly be fighting the winner of Daniel Dubois versus Filip Hrgovic, scheduled for 1 June, later this year.

That bout would likely be for the IBF title, with the winner of Fury vs Usyk expected to vacate that belt before the planned rematch but that fight will come nowhere near earning Joshua as much as finally facing Fury would.

“You are talking north of £100 million, for each guy,” H‌earn told Piers Morgan Uncensored. Asked by Morgan if that would make it the richest fight ever, the promoter repeated, “Ever. The biggest fight ever.”

Hearn then expanded on how much Matchroom stands to make saying, “We would do alright. We take a percentage off Anthony Joshua.”

After suggesting that they would receive 20 per cent, Hearn later acknowledged the cut would be around 10 per cent. That scenario would leave Joshua making at least £90m from the fight.

Joshua’s promoter also offered a hint about when the fight could happen.

“If Tyson Fury beats Usyk in that first fight, the whole world is going to say, ‘Please don’t do the second fight,’” he said.

Fury has also previously acknowledged not wanting a rematch clause in the contract.

“We had this big argument this year, I don’t know if you remember when I said ‘no rematch clauses’, but (Usyk) was acting like a little b**ch crying over a rematch,” Fury told the DAZN Boxing Show in the build-up to Joshua’s fight against Francis Ngannou.

“He didn’t want to just throw it down, and whoever won, won, so he ends up getting his rematch clause. There’ll be two fights this year (between) me and Usyk, regardless of whatever happens in the first one.”

Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show last weekend, Joshua also showed a willingness to wait for the fight saying, “I think what they’re saying is be patient because you’ve got Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for all the belts, and then once that’s done hopefully I can kick down the door and get my opportunity.”

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury plan becomes clear as £200m fight edges closer

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Anthony and Tyson

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury could meet in the ring at the end of this year as a path for their grudge fight has now become clear.

Domestic rivals Joshua and Fury have been linked to fight for almost a decade but their meeting is now edging closer after ‘AJ’ guaranteed himself an undisputed world title shot by KO’ing former UFC champion Francis Ngannou last month. Fury is fighting fellow heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 for the undisputed belts in Saudi Arabia.

Fury and Usyk’s fight has a two-way rematch clause meaning they will likely fight again in August or September, which is around the same time that Joshua will return to the ring. Around September is when I’ve been told. I was hoping June,” Joshua said when asked about his next fight on The Jonathan Ross Show.

“I’ve got some time to go on dates now and mingle a little bit. I’m training at the minute, I’ve got two months before I get into training camp.” Joshua will fight the winner of Daniel Dubois vs Filip Hrgovic in September, according to his good friend Derek Chisora.

A fight between Dubois and Hrgovic will likely take place on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s undisputed light-heavyweight fight in Saudi Arabia on June 1. The heavyweight clash could be for the IBF world title if the organisation forces Fury or Usyk to fight mandatory challenger Hrgovic.

If ‘AJ’ can come out of his September fight relatively unscathed, it means he could be set for a three-month turnaround to fight Fury in Saudi Arabia at the end of the year. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn thinks the domestic clash could be made even sooner if Fury beats Usyk next month.

When asked what is more likely to happen first, darts ace Luke Littler winning a world championship or Joshua facing Fury, Hearn told Piers Morgan: “Well because the darts Championship comes in December and January, I’m gonna say that Fury vs AJ happens this year. So I’m gonna say Fury vs AJ [happens first].”

 

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Anthony Joshua give rare glimpse into his love life as he opens up on dating

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ANTHONY JOSHUA has given a rare insight into his love life as he opened up on dating.

The British boxing superstar has always kept his romantic side private and instead focussed on his career in the ring.

But during a candid conversation on The Jonathan Ross Show, he said: “I’ve got some time to go on dates now and mingle a little bit.”

But Joshua quickly snapped back to reality when asked if he has time to date as he responded: “Yeah, definitely….

“I don’t know what I’m doing actually. Boxing is my priority.”

Joshua shares his eight-year-old son with former girlfriend Nicole Osbourne, who he still remains close friends with.

But he has been linked with famous faces in the past, including models Cara Delevingne and Bella Hadid.

Joshua, 34, was probed on his dating life by Louis Theroux in a revealing documentary last year.

Asked if he has a partner, he said: “No, I don’t.”

And he insisted he was not lying, telling Louis: “Imagine me going home to my missus now and she said, ‘You denied me!’. I don’t want the stress.”

Joshua was also quick to shut down the rumours about Delevigne and Hadid, saying: “I haven’t been with any of those girls, by the way.”

The two-time world champion has four wins on the spin, most recently knocking out ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou, 37, in March.

He is now waiting the winner between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed title decider.

And Joshua is hoping the face the winner after revealing when he would fight again.

He said: “Around September is when I’ve been told. I was hoping June. I’ve got some time to go on dates now and mingle a little bit.

“I’m training at the minute, I’ve got two months before I get into training camp.”

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