Arum: Stevenson’s Next Fight Could Be His Last At Top Rank
Bob Arum has revealed Shakur Stevenson’s next fight will be his last fight at Top Rank, subject to a renewal.
The WBC Lightweight Champion is reportedly in talks to face Artem Harutyunyan on July 6 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Shakur had initially retired following his poor showing against Edwin De Los Santos. While Stevenson won a unanimous decision, he fought off the back foot, earning boos from the crowd. He later confirmed he injured his hand coming into the fight.
The performance dropped Shakur’s standing, making it tough for him to find an opponent. Before being linked with Harutyunyan, Shakur was linked with William Zepeda. Zepeda called out Shakur after stopping Maxi Hughes in his last fight. Despite wanting to face him, Oscar De La Hoya dismissed the fight for now. Shakur also failed in his attempts to face Devin Haney as a replacement for Ryan Garcia.
There were worries Garcia would pull out over potential mental health concerns. But with less than two weeks to go until the fight, Haney-Garcia is still on course to go ahead. While Shakur has become a three-division champion with Top Rank, the fighter has said he will explore his free agency, as Arum hinted at his future being elsewhere.
Arum Reacts
“Shakur is fighting on July 6th in New Jersey at the Prudential Center. We’ll announce the opponent relatively shortly, and we had a great run with Shakur. He’s an incredible fighter with incredible skills, but our contract is over with the July 6th fight. Hopefully, we’ll maintain our relationship with Shakur and continue that, but he’s a free agent after the July 6th fight. So, we’ll see how that all plays out. The guys at the office told me that who they selected for Shakur is a really good fighter,” Arum said
Shakur has numerous options at his disposal. He could stay with Top Rank and target the winner of Vasiliy Lomachenko vs George Kambosos Jr. The two boxers face off in May for the vacant IBF Lightweight Title. That gives Shakur a big unification fight since Loma and Kambosos both fight under Top Rank. Stevenson could also move up to 140 and potentially box Teofimo Lopez, who is also with Top Rank.
Other options include signing with PBC or DAZN. A deal with PBC takes Shakur a step closer to securing a Gervonta Davis fight, the current WBA Lightweight Champion. Since PBC makes their fights in-house, there is a unification on offer by crossing the street.
Shakur’s Future
A deal with DAZN takes Shakur closer to title fights at 140 with Haney and Subriel Matias. Haney is the WBC Junior Welterweight Champion, while Matias holds the IBF Belt with DAZN. Shakur knows he must make the right decision, which is why Arum is behind him, regardless of how he goes.
“We hope to continue promoting his fights, but he is a free agent. That doesn’t mean he’s an enemy or anything like that. Sports is a business. I really believe Shakur has developed into one of the great fighters of our era, and I really believe that if you put him with Zepeda, who is a good fighter, but not a great fighter, it’s a non contest,” Arum stated
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