Gervonta Davis continues to take ‘L’s. And this time, it’s tied to the buzz surrounding the highly anticipated showdown between Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez. The pair is set to clash on January 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York. After years of calling out Davis with no success, ‘Sugar’ Stevenson finally opted to move up to super lightweight to challenge Lopez for his WBO title.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore native had been preparing for an exhibition bout against Jake Paul, but the matchup collapsed after his ex-girlfriend filed a lawsuit against him. With Davis now stuck on the sidelines and his future increasingly uncertain, criticism has only intensified. Among those speaking out is Boxing Scene’s Paulie Malignaggi, who didn’t hold back while sharing his prediction for next month’s Stevenson vs. Lopez fight.

Gervonta Davis would never have done what Shakur Stevenson is doing

Speaking on a panel for Boxing Scene, Malignaggi praised Stevenson’s dominance and long-term potential. “Shakur is extremely talented and could be the face of boxing as far as being that good and being that dominant, even though no matter how good you are,” Malignaggi said confidently. Still, he insisted Teofimo Lopez shouldn’t be underestimated, calling him one of the rare fighters capable of handing Stevenson a loss.

Malignaggi then shifted his attention to Gervonta Davis, pointing out that Davis would never have taken a fight against Lopez. “And I don’t ever want to hear any of you ‘Tank’ nut huggers that he fights one Uber driver after another,” Malignaggi added. “If Shakur Stevenson loses this fight, I don’t ever want to hear any of you saying, ‘Oh, what about Shakur now?’ ‘Tank’ this, ‘Tank’ that.” According to him, Davis has consistently avoided facing truly dangerous competition.

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“Tank fights the guy who delivers my pizza. He fights the guys in the back that are doing the production,” he continued during the interview. “He fights the truck driver. I don’t want to hear it because he would never have gone near Teofimo Lopez in his life. This fight is that damn good.” Malignaggi concluded by noting that Stevenson should still be favored, “But Teofimo is the dangerous X-Factor that could be maybe the only guy on his night so damn good, he may be able to beat Shakur.”

This isn’t the first time Davis has faced such accusations. He has repeatedly been criticized for cherry-picking opponents. Earlier this year, rather than facing another champion or even someone from his own division, he chose to fight Lamont Roach Jr., who moved up from super featherweight. And even then, Roach nearly beat him. Instead of running it back to clear any doubts, Davis opted to chase an exhibition with Jake Paul.

At this point, it’s becoming clear that protecting his ‘0’ matters far more to Davis than building a legacy. Davis’ reputation has now fallen so badly that other fighters are using him as an example to make themselves look good. 

Isaac Cruz takes shots at ‘Tank’ Davis

Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz didn’t just call for an immediate rematch with Lamont Roach Jr.—he took a pointed jab at Gervonta Davis in the process. Speaking after their controversial majority draw in San Antonio, Cruz made it clear he’s willing to run it back without hesitation. “Do the fans want a rematch?” he asked. “Do you guys want a rematch? I’m not Gervonta Davis. I’m ready for a rematch right away.”

Cruz and Roach both pushed Davis to the edge in the toughest fights of his career, yet the WBA lightweight champion never granted either man a second meeting. Cruz didn’t shy away from referencing that history. “We’re the only ones that pushed Gervonta the way we did… and [that’s] the reason why Gervonta didn’t give either of us a rematch,” he said.

It appears Gervonta Davis has become the cautionary tale for boxers who want to sail by without putting in the work. But can Davis return to shut his critics up?