Shakur Stevenson Signs Two-Fight Deal With Matchroom: Hearn’s High Hopes And Escape Route

Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed today that he has signed Shakur Stevenson to a two-fight contract. The first match will be against Joe Cordina on October 12, and the second will be against William Zepeda in February.

Hearn says that if Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) “wins” in his first two matches with Matchroom against Cordina and Zepeda, he will look to make a serious fight with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in mid-2025. summer. Newark, New Jersey native Shakur may not make it to that fight if he is beaten by Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) or #1 WBC Zepeda.

Short-Term Contract: Hearn’s Safety Net?

As for why he only signed Shakur to a two-fight contract rather than a long one, Hearn said he would want him to have the freedom to decide if he’s happy with Matchroom to re-sign or move on if he’s not happy. However, this could be Hearn’s an escape route washing his hands of Shakur if he loses or looks bad in his fights with Cordina and Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs). He’s going to look bad in both of those fights, and that’s a given.

The last thing Hearn needs is a battered Shakur hanging around as a constant reminder of his mistake in signing him to his Matchroom company. So, a contract for two wars. Shakur will have a short life of two fights with Hearn, so he can move on if he fails to get past Cordina and Zepeda.

Doubts About Stevenson’s Star Power

If Hearn had watched Shakur’s fight against Edwin De Los Santos last November, he would have known that he would not be a “world star” as he went down. He won’t be a star in the US Fans in the States want to be entertained, and Shakur doesn’t meet their standards.

“I know my boxing, and I know how good this kid is,” said Eddie Hearn on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel, congratulating Shakur Stevenson, his new signing. “It is possible that he is invincible. I know you are a pound star. There’s something about Shakur’s mind that makes me believe he’s beating everybody.”

Hearn shows his unfamiliarity with American warfare when he says, “There’s something about Shakur’s mind” that makes him believe he can beat “anybody.” Shakur is like many arrogant American fighters who brag but don’t live up to what they say. They are a dime a dozen in the US; Shakur is a textbook example.

“I think he’s sold a lot. I think he should not only be an American champion but a world star. I think you have a temper; I think she has an amazing talent, and I will do everything I can to give her the platform and publicity push that her talent deserves.

Short Rope

“For Shakur, there is this plan for two fights with Joe Cordina and if he wins [William] Stop fighting. We will show him at that time our worth. “We’re going to work closely together, and we’re going to go forward against Gervonta Davis and everybody,” Hearn said.

“I hope that these two fights will lead to Shakur Stevenson ending his career with Matchroom. It would be an honor. A lot of advertising companies want to lock you into a three-, four-, five-year contract,” said Hearn when asked why he signed Shakur to a two-fight contract.

Hearn sounds like he doesn’t care about his comments about his reason for the two-fight deal he gave Shakur. He must know that there is a good chance that Shakur will lose at least one of the two fights in his short contract with Matchroom, and if that happens, keeping him will be pointless.

Shakur could end up being an unhappy, disgruntled fighter, blasting Hearn on social media for his failures. Furthermore, if Hearn can’t sustain Shakur’s career with easy paydays against soft opposition after losing to Zepeda or Cordina, Stevenson could end up being a noisy little gremlin on social media, taking out the British promoter as a result. keeping him afloat like he did with Anthony Joshua.

“I understand that multi-year agreement when you start in the game. I’m confident that once you work with me you will never want to work with anyone else and if you don’t enjoy that, that’s fine,” said Hearn, giving his good excuse as to why he didn’t offer. Shakur is a long-term contract. “You can go somewhere else,” Hearn said, giving his reason for giving Shakur a shorter two-fight deal.

I don’t blame Hearn at all for giving Shakur a short-term contract because it would be crazy to give him a long-term one if he has doubts about beating Zepeda or Tank Davis. All you have to do is look at Shakur’s fights against De Los Santos, Jeremiah Nakathilia, and Artem Harutyunyan to know that he won’t beat Zepeda and he certainly won’t beat Tank Davis.