Shakur Stevenson, who is the WBC lightweight champion, also posted a video of promoter Eddie Hearn saying that if he is a free agent, he would like to have a conversation about signing him to his Matchroom company.
Organizers Fight for Stevenson
Shkur’s contract with Top Rank expires on July 6 after he defends Artem Harutyunyan at the Prudential Center in Newark, Jersey. He has not said whether he will re-sign with Top Rank or move on.
Promoter Bob Arum said he would like to bring Shakur back, but it will be up to him if he wants to come back.
Stevenson’s Game Options
If Shakur signs with Hearn’s company, it’s not clear who he has in his Matchroom stable to fight him other than these fighters:
– Andy Cruz: 135
– Liam Paro: 140
– Subrial Matias: 140
– Richardson Hitchins: 140
– Jack Catterall: 140
Those are probably not the kind of soldiers Shakur hopes to face once he reaches the free market. He wants to fight Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Vasily Lomacheko, Teofimo Lopez, and Devin Haney, fighters who don’t want to face Shakur because of his moves and unpopularity.
If Shakur signs with Hearn, his best hope for a big fight is if the Honorable Turki Alalshikh takes an interest in him, and chooses to pay Tank, Haney, Lomachenko or Teofimo a boatload of money to take the fight.
Stevenson’s Potential Risks and Rewards
If Shakur puts Hearn in, that’s the best possible outcome. The worst that could happen is he signs with Hearn and gets beat by Andy Cruz, Paro, Matias, Hitchins, or Catterall.
Shakur would be doing Hearn a favor by fighting those guys because none of them are as famous as him, and he’s not even a big name. That shows how far those fighters are from the average boxing fan in the US
🎯
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) June 25, 2024
“I think he is a great fighter. I think he would be an amazing player for the Matchroom team, and if he is there, we will definitely talk,” promoter Eddie Hearn told the media about Shakur Stevenson.
Hearn will have to put it on the table to tell Shakur what could happen to him if he signs with Matchroom. As long as Shakur knows what fighters he’ll be matched up against, he won’t have room to squirm later on in terms of fantasy matches against fighters like Ryan Garcia, Tank, and Haney not happening.
Industry View of Stevenson
“Shakur is an amazing fighter and one of the most underrated fighters in the sport,” said Tim Bradley on Fight Hub TV. “He is the most underrated fighter in this game. It’s a shame to see how many people bash Shakur because of his talent and what he brings.
Shakur is not exciting because fans today like to watch tough fighters; he fails in that department with his Mayweather-esque style.
I’m talking about Mayweather’s old schedule when he was ‘Money May’ and was the first safety, not when he was in the ‘Pretty Boy’ phase of his career.
“Yes, we are talking about his last fight. It was boring. A lot happened to him. I don’t make excuses,” Bradley said of Shakur’s fight last November against Edwin De Los Santos. “He should have done better,” said Tim.
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