Fans Roast Shakur Stevenson’s Fighting Style – ‘He’s A Track Star’
Shakur Stevenson has claimed that his next opponent Artem Harutyunyan will be ‘running’ in the ring, causing fans to comment en masse.
Shakur defends his WBC Lightweight Title on July 6, the vacant belt he won against Edwin De Los Santos in his prior fight. Stevenson’s performance was booed as he was fighting on the back foot. Shakur used his jab while De Los Santos struggled to cut the ring off. After the fight, Stevenson revealed he had a hand injury coming into the contest.
But his stock dropped dramatically with the suggestion that he is not an exciting fighter. He is in the final fight of his Top Rank contract, with a high chance that he will leave to explore free agency. That makes it imperative that Shakur performs well to attract the big promoters, who would be interested in signing a generational talent. Shakur will have to defy the pre-fight narrative that he would be boxing on the back foot.
Shakur Reacts
“It depends on how tough he is and how much punishment he can take. I know he’s going to start running, and then I got to cut the ring. This dude is a good fighter. I think a lot of the public don’t know him. So they think how good he is. Right now, I think the mode that I’m in and what I’ve got going on in my brain, I want to come in and put punishment on him. It may start out as a boxing match, and then I may start beating the…out of him. Understand, we’re going the job done by any means. In round six or seven, he’s going to start moving all around. I’ve got to cut the ring off a little bit,” Shakur said
Artem showed that he was a good boxer in his last fight. He faced Frank Martin and was outboxing the American for large parts of the fight. However, the momentum changed in the back end of the fight. Artem took a knee in the final round, which was about to give Martin the win. Artem may deploy a strategy to keep things tight, forcing Shakur to open up more due to his expectation to perform well.
Shakur’s Future
That could allow the German opportunities to counter and frustrate Stevenson. Eddie Hearn has already said he is interested in working with Shakur if the opportunity is right. Stevenson could box Devin Haney and Liam Paro (the IBF Junior Welterweight Champion), who are closely associated with Matchroom. Based on Hearn’s comments, there will be a conversation.
“If Shakur wants to pledge his future, you make a significant investment. If it’s a two, three-fight deal, he’s going to be getting a lot of money, and it’s got to work for you as well. I think Shakur, pound-for-pound, is one of the best fighters in the world. He may be unbeatable. He’s that good, but I think he’s been promoted terribly.
“I think some of that is because when Bob [Arum] knows a fighter is looking to leave, he’s out. For the revenue he creates for the show, he’s earned a lot of money, but he hasn’t been pushed to make him a commercial success. I like him. I think he’s a great fighter and would be an incredible addition to the Matchroom team. If he’s available, we’ll definitely be having a conversation; whether it works for both of us, we’ll have to see,” Hearn said
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