Shakur Stevenson “RAT”?! Tank Davis Explodes On Social Media

Gervonta Davis took to social media to gripe about not being invited by Turki Al-Sheikh for the Ring Awards event last Saturday in London. Davis seemed bitter about not being one of the fighters invited by Turki.

Turki’s Choices

WBA lightweight champion Tank Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) said Al-Sheikh invited only the people he “deals with.” What really set him off was seeing Shakur Stevenson among the fighters posing with Turki for a photo.

Shakur was prominently positioned for the photo, indicating his high status as a fighter among the group. Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia were also invited.

That has to have got Tank’s kettle on the boil because he doesn’t rate Shakur, who tends to get booed when he fights. He’s not in the same league as Gervonta regarding entertainment, selling tickets, and being a PPV attraction. Shakur is a retro-Mayweather early 2000s type who seems out of place in this era where fighters must entertain or else.

However, Shakur’s signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom means he’ll be invited to Turki’s events and will fight on his Riyadh Season card next month, on February 22nd. If Tank Davis had been with Hearn, he would have surely been invited. Shakur said in an interview last Saturday that Turki will be setting up a fight between him and Tank Davis soon.

“Why they didn’t invite everybody but they invited people they deal with. F*** out of here…Look at the little rat thinking he came up on something (Eddie Hearn) now tell them all fight each other since they have a heavy roster,” said Tank Davis on X.

Who’s In, Who’s Out

Fans who negatively view this would argue that Turki has created a small club or clique of fighters that he selects and pays well for his enormous cards.

The fighters who aren’t invited are left behind and don’t get the same spotlight to grow their careers. They’re left on the margins and don’t make big money because they’re not in the club.

In sociology are the “in-group” and the “out-group.” The in-group forms cliques, is invited to parties, and generally gets the best of everything.

The “out-group” is not allowed into the in-group unless it does something that sets it apart, like becoming successful at something. They’re treated like outcasts or lepers and shunned by the in-group. Tank Davis seems to resent not being part of the in-group.

In the past, Tank Davis said Turki Al-Sheikh would need to send him “two Ferraris” to his front door as a starting point to begin negotiations to fight on one of his cards. That didn’t happen.

“If they want me, they gotta send me something to my front door… like two Ferraris or something,” said Tank Davis in an interview.