De La Hoya Raves About Shakur – ‘We Can Build A New Mayweather’

Oscar De La Hoya spoke with Shakur Stevenson after his recent free agency.
Shakur rejected a $15 million five-fight deal from Top Rank as he saw out his contract. His last fight was a win against Artem Harutyunyan as he defended his WBC Lightweight Title. Despite the win, it was another underwhelming performance. Fans booed and walked out before the final round. It was the second time in a row that Shakur failed to excite the crowd after his Edwin De Los Santos performance.
Shakur’s Future
In his defense, Artem was not looking to enagage. Meanwhile, Shakur had an injury coming into the De Los Santos fight. Since his free agency, Shakur has attracted interest from Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn and PBC. Hearn described Shakur as unbeatable, while Stevenson had a FaceTime with Mayweather. De La Hoya has teased the idea of Shakur taking on William Zepeda. The fight was mentioned before Stevenson faced Artem. Now that Shakur is a free agent, De La Hoya spoke with him via Zoom. He talked up Stevenson’s potential, having promoted Floyd Mayweather, who shares a style similar to Shakur.
“I believe there’s absolutely an opportunity [to sign Stevenson]. It all depends on what I want to offer for [Stevenson]. [And] It all depends on what fighters we have on our roster. It all depends on their vision. I promoted [Floyd] Mayweather for 16 fights. So, there’s a blueprint there. [Stevenson] needs opponents. He needs the right names. He needs William Zepeda.
“[I want] to sign him. … He’s a great talent. I would love to work with him. He’s a great fighter. Shakur needs some good dancing partners. He reminds me of Mayweather. I had every single opponent for [Mayweather]. We found them all, and Mayweather became Mayweather. Shakur is in a similar situation. If we have the right opponents, we can build a new Mayweather,” De La Hoya said
Stevenson’s Value
The major problem Shakur is facing is the value he places on himself. Having turned down $3 million a fight, he must get the right opponent to earn more. A fight with Zepeda could do that since he is a Mexican knockout artist with a 30-0 record, which includes 27 KOs. That is what may bring out the best in Stevenson.
There is also the possibility of making a fight with Matchroom. Golden Boy and Matchroom fighters are with DAZN. Hearn has options at 140 against Liam Paro, the IBF Junior Welterweight Champion. There is also a possible Devin Haney fight, who works closely with DAZN even if he is a free agent. But to get those fights, De La Hoya urged Shakur to be realistic over his value.
“I’m not sure what his market value is, and that’s what’s making it a little difficult. It doesn’t help when Shakur tells the world, ‘I don’t fight for the people, I fight for me.’ Well, you’ve got to fight for the fans. The fans pay you. The fans buy the tickets, buy the pay-per-views. Regardless, I think Shakur is one of the best fighters out there. If it makes sense for us, then I’m sure we can work something out,” De La Hoya stated
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