Ryan Garcia has found the perfect reason to avoid a fight against Keyshawn Davis. And Shakur Stevenson can’t stop laughing after learning about it. ‘King Ry’ recently crossed paths with ‘The Businessman’ during the Mike Tyson Invitational in Las Vegas. Garcia’s cousin, Jacob Herrera, was fighting rival Devin Haney’s brother, Sean Haney, during the event, so his presence was a must. While Herrera failed to secure a victory, things took an interesting turn after the event. 

During what appeared to be an after-party, Ryan Garcia and Keyshawn Davis faced off in a heated confrontation. Clips of the moment quickly flooded social media, sparking talks of a potential fight between the two, even though they are in different weight classes. However, Garcia has now changed his tune on fighting ‘The Businessman’ and even came up with an interesting excuse to avoid the fight altogether. 

“Keyshawn is my brother, I’ll never fight him,” Garcia wrote on X. 

In reality, however, this is less an excuse and more of a jab at Shakur Stevenson. Why? Well, Stevenson and Davis have known each other all their lives. During their amateur days, they participated in the same tournaments, trained together, and even knew each other’s families well. In fact, on multiple occasions, Stevenson and Davis have claimed they will never fight each other because of their brotherly love and friendship.

Garcia’s subtle jab didn’t go unnoticed and attracted Shakur Stevenson’s attention. 

“This dude 😂,” Stevenson wrote back on X. 

Interestingly, even now, Stevenson and Davis are in the same weight class—super lightweight. However, just like the Klitschko brothers (Vitali and Wladimir), they are unlikely to fight against each other. This, however, came after Ryan Garcia expressed his intentions to fight Stevenson. After defeating Mario Barrios earlier this year to become the welterweight champion, Garcia confidently called out Stevenson for a fight.

The Newark native, who is coming off a dominant win over Teofimo Lopez when he made his super lightweight debut, accepted the challenge. However, he had his own conditions to make the fight happen. Stevenson wanted a rehydration clause in their fight contract, which would prevent Garcia from ballooning up on fight night.

Garcia wants to avoid doing this at all costs, which appears to have halted talks for a fight between them. Previously, Ryan Garcia accepted a rehydration clause to face Gervonta Davis, and he was drained during the fight, contributing to his loss. For now, their futures remain in the air. In the meantime, Garcia’s rival has proposed a great fight for Stevenson.

Devin Haney thinks Shakur Stevenson vs. Raymond Muratalla is perfect

In January this year, Raymond Muratalla defeated promising newcomer Andy Cruz via majority decision to win the IBF lightweight title. And immediately after, he looked into the camera and called out Shakur Stevenson for a fight. Stevenson, who was recently stripped of his WBC lightweight belt for refusing to pay $120,000 in sanctioning fees, responded quickly. 

Despite having last fought at super lightweight against Teofimo Lopez, Stevenson claimed he would love to face Muratalla for the belt. However, he highlighted that there might not be a lot of money for him in the bout. Still, Devin Haney, who is often pitted against Stevenson for a fight, feels that’s the best course of action for his rival. 

“I think that’s a good fight for Shakur,” Haney said. “I was impressed by Muratalla against Andy Cruz… He showed that he was a much better and seasoned fighter. Muratalla can [give Stevenson a fight]… but I don’t think he can get Shakur out of a rhythm.

“I think Robert Garcia would put up a good game plan for him, but I don’t think that’s really Muratalla’s style.”

It’s also worth noting that when Devin Haney was in lightweight, Stevenson tried to make a fight against Haney. Offers were even sent, but it didn’t end up happening. Stevenson claimed Haney’s camp lowballed him to make sure the fight didn’t happen. Haney eventually moved up in weight and lost to Ryan Garcia, a fight which saw its result overturned due to Garcia’s positive PED test. 

At the moment, no one’s quite sure what would come next for whom. But Ryan Garcia appears to have made sure it won’t be Keyshawn Davis for him. Would you have wanted to see that fight?