Gervonta Davis and Vasyl Lomachenko looked destined to be fighting each other earlier this year.

Negotiations were opened in June between representatives of Loma and Tank for a proposed WBA and IBF lightweight world title unification clash for the back end of this year.

It’s understood conversations between long-time promotional rivals Bob Arum’s Top Rank (who promote Lomachenko) and Al Haymon’s PBC (who represent Davis) were going well.

However, talks came to an abrupt halt in July when Lomachenko opted to take some time away from the sport.

Lomachenko’s manager Egis Klimas insisted that his client ‘wasn’t in the mood to fight Davis right now’ and wouldn’t be returning to the ring until 2025.

The development came amid reports that Lomachenko and Davis had reached an agreement.

But Top Rank President Todd duBoef insists negotiations were only in the early stages with nothing more than a ‘framework’ in place.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, duBoef said: “We were all for it.

“We had met with Tank Davis and multiple people from PBC.

“Loma is at a place in his career where he is seasoned, he’s seen it all, he’s done it all.

“But one thing he’s not done is unify all of the titles and go undisputed.

“And I think he really wanted that, that is why his disappointment in the Haney fight was there.

Teofimo Lopez recently called out Gervonta Davis for a fight this year.

‘Tank’ Davis currently holds the WBA Lightweight World Title, being elevated to full champion when Devin Haney vacated and making his first defence against previously-undefeated Frank Martin.

Lopez, who previously held four belts in that division, has settled one weight class up at 140 pounds, winning the WBO belt in his third fight there against Josh Taylor and making two successful defences since.

Both are currently in the market for an opponent and Lopez recently issued the call for Davis to move up and face him before the year is out.

Speaking to Sean Zittel on a potential fight, undefeated super-featherweight Maliek Montgomery used the experience of a 2015 amateur bout with Lopez and more recent sparring sessions with Davis to make a prediction.

“I wasn’t able to get any work with Teo more currently, but from my perspective of being in the ring with both of them, that’s a tough one. I would still probably give the edge to Tank in that fight … just because that power is an equaliser, and it doesn’t help the fact that he has a great boxing IQ also.

So it’s a part of now you gotta go twelve rounds of dealing with somebody who can box, has all those attributes, but also has that type of power that they can hit you one time and change the whole tempo of the fight.”

‘Tank’ is slated to return on December 21 against former super-featherweight champion Lamont Roach, according to Dan Rafael. Lopez is currently without a date or opponent.

On 6th July, Shakur Stevenson recorded a one-sided victory against Artem Harutyunyan in his hometown fight in Newark, New Jersey. However, the hometown hero’s performance put a damper on the celebratory mood as the WBC lightweight champion was soon deemed “boring” by many. Despite being one of the best defensive boxers who rarely gets hit, the boxing world heavily criticized Stevenson for a lack of action in the ring. Clips were circulating of fans leaving the Newark arena before the fight was even over. Fans weren’t fond of this method in his fight against Edwin de Los Santos in December last year, either.

After the fight, American rapper Mason Betha, aka Mase, called out Stevenson on his podcast and stated “I don’t wanna see Shakur fight,” criticizing his boxing style. The 27-year-old boxer was not a fan of this criticism and hit back at Mase, even calling his rap career a failure. In a recent episode of the ‘It Is What It Is’ podcast, Camron Giles aka Cam’ron, Mase’s co-host, asked Mike Tyson about the criticism directed at Shakur over his fighting style, and his lack of fortitude when it comes to dealing with it. While replying to the question, the legendary heavyweight champion was not particularly kind towards his fellow boxer.

Giles laid down the fact that Stevenson was angry at their criticism of him and asked Mike Tyson if he used to respond to criticism in such a manner. “They are entitled to their opinion,” Iron Mike began. The 57-year-old was clear that a boxer should have a thick skin and should know how to handle criticism as it is a part of the sport.

But according to Tyson, the one fact that remains is that even if you are a boxer, you can’t fight everyone, so just accept that fact and move on. Iron Mike continued, “I may be a little sh*tty about it, but they are entitled to their own opinion. I am not gonna kick your a** about it. It’s your opinion.” In a three-decade-long career, Tyson has been on the receiving end of many negative things, but he has always handled it like a professional. Well, most times.