Hearn Praises Shakur Stevenson – ‘Shakur May Be Unbeatable’
Eddie Hearn is talking up the possibility of signing Shakur Stevenson, saying that he may be unbeatable.
Shakur is a free agent following his final fight with Top Rank. He defeated Artem Harutyunyan via a unanimous decision to retain his WBC Lightweight Belt. It was the knockout performance that Shakur may have wanted. Some fans left the venue before the final round. Meanwhile, there were a few jeers as it was not the most entertaining spectacle. It was the second back-to-back fight where there were jeers from the crowd.
Hearn Reacts
The Edwin De Los Santos fight was the same as Shakur’s stock dropping. Stevenson has revealed that he rejected a $15 million offer from Top Rank for five fights. That may seem like a lot of money, but Shakur backed himself up to get a better deal. If he had signed the Top Rank deal, he may have been tied down for five years if he had fought once a year.
He also did not have the biggest names, as bouts with Teofimo Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko never got made despite them both being with Top Rank. Shakur did describe Hearn as the best promoter in the world. Now, Eddie has equally lavished praise on him.
“Shakur Stevenson may be unbeatable. Shakur is brilliant. Sometimes, his style is not all-out aggressive, Arturo Gatti, but guess what? He’s winning these fights, fighting them the way he wants to fight. I think when you see him fight Tank, maybe even Zepeda, you’re going to see the best Shakur Stevenson. I know I can make him a star because that’s easy for me.
“He rates extremely well on ESPN. As I understand it, it was a really good crowd in Newark,” said Hearn about the 8,000+ fans that showed up for Shakur’s fight against Artem Harutyunyan last Saturday night. The venue holds 18,000. So, there was not quite a half-full capacity for Shakur-Harutyunyan in Shakur’s hometown,” Hearn reacts
Shakur’s Future
Signing with Hearn is a catch-22. He has a close relationship with the Saudis, which allows him to get bigger fights and more money. However, the question is whether the Saudis want to invest in Shakur, as he does not excite the crowd. Meanwhile, if he desires to get the Gervonta Davis fight, signing with PBC may be easier. PBC often has fights in-house, showing a reluctance to work with other promoters. Davis also rejected initial feelers from the Saudis who wanted him to fight Devin Haney in the Kingdom.
Davis requested two Ferraris from the Saudis before he even entertained a conversation. A deal with Matchroom potentially offers him fights with Liam Paro, the IBF Junior Welterweight Title. There is also the chance to make a fight with Devin Haney. Haney is a free agent but aligns himself with DAZN, making that a potential fight. But for Shakur to get those fights, he must justify his commanding purses. Unless he delivers some knockout performances, he risks harming his brand like Devin Haney has done following the no-contest with Ryan Garcia.
Comments
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
