Former World Champion Sends Warning to Gervonta Davis: "Don't Become The New Canelo"

Gervonta Davis faces criticism for not pushing to fight Shakur Stevenson. Former champion Paulie Malignaggi has called out Davis, urging him to take on the toughest opponents in the lightweight division.

Malignaggi's comments came after Stevenson announced his upcoming fight against Joe Cordina on October 12. The bout will take place on the undercard of the Dmitry Bivol versus Artur Beterbiev event.

Davis, known as "Tank," has had a strong run recently. He stopped Ryan Garcia in April 2023 and followed that with another stoppage win over Frank Martin in July. Davis is set to return to the ring in November, but his opponent hasn't been named yet.

Malignaggi shared his thoughts in a recent interview with YouTube channel iFL TV:

"I hope Davis doesn't become the new Canelo. I hope that he goes and makes this fight, we want to see the best fight the best, the champions fight one another. This is what we have in the lightweight division. In the Canelo situation he has all the belts so the avoidance of the top contenders is extra annoying in that case. But in this situation, we could have champion versus champion and it's bona fide the best in the division. Cordina is solid but he's coming off a loss."

The former champion turned pundit compared Davis's situation to that of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Canelo has faced criticism for being too selective with his opponents despite his accomplishments.

Fans and experts alike want to see a unification fight between Davis, the WBA lightweight champion, and Stevenson, who holds the WBC lightweight title. The match-up would pit two of the division's best against each other.

For now, the potential for a Davis-Stevenson showdown remains up in the air. Boxing fans will have to wait and see if the two champions can come together for what would be an exciting unification bout.