Is Shakur Stevenson Boxing’s Most Boring Fighter ? – Where Does He Go Next?
Shakur Stevenson has indicated that he will remain a free agent and not sign a long-term deal.
Shakur will defend his WBC Lightweight Title on July 6 against Artem Harutyunyan. It is the final fight under Shakur’s Top Rank deal. His commercial value is at an all-time low following his performance against Edwin De Los Santos. Despite winning the bout to claim the WBC Title, the crowd booed Shakur based on his defensive style.
He is fighting off the back foot, using his jab, and showing a reluctance to engage. De Los Santos tried to cut the ring off and take the fight to Shakur. Since he could not do that, it was a poor spectacle. The crowd responded by booing Shakur. He later revealed that he had injured his hand while coming into the fight.
Shakur’s Problems
The worrying aspect of Shakur’s market value was that he could not even secure fights with those in his weight class and under the same promoter. Fights with Vasiliy Lomachenko and Keyshawn Davis could have been made. Loma is an experienced operator who has won titles in three-weight classes. He is still trying to become undisputed, much like Shakur, who holds the WBC belt.
Yet, the fight never happened. While Loma stated that he would take the year off, leaving Stevenson to fight De Los Santos for that vacant belt instead, a bout with Loma made more sense. The Ukrainian lost to Haney in controversial circumstances, which would have allowed Shakur to show that he could win more decisively. But if Loma beats George Kambosos Jr. on May 11, Arum wants to make that fight.
“If Lomachenko wins, and Shakur, who is scheduled to fight in July wins, then for the fall to do a Lomachenko-Shakur fight, every serious boxing fan will be watching that in awe between two great technicians fighting for a unified title. Let’s see what happens. Kambosos is very very good. Even though he doesn’t come from Perth, he’s fighting on home territory, which means something,” Arum stated
Shakur’s Future
Even if Shakur leaves Top Rank, his next move is uncertain. A deal with PBC is likely to be a long-term one. They are unlikely to give Shakur the Tank fight based on a one-fight deal since they would want a return on their investment. Should Shakur beat Tank, there would be nothing holding him back from leaving the PBC.
Terence Crawford showed that when he signed a two-fight deal to box Errol Spence Jr. After beating him so decisively in the first fight, the rematch never happened, allowing Bud to become a free agent. Spence’s value is no longer the same under PBC. A fight with Teofimo Lopez was also not made despite them both being with Top Rank. Lopez fights at 140, but given that Shakur wanted to face Haney by moving up to junior welterweight, a Lopez fight would have made more sense.
A deal with DAZN would be for the Devin Haney fight. But is a win over Haney that significant, given that Ryan Garcia dominated The Dream? He dropped him three times to win a majority decision. While Haney is still the WBC champion at 140 because Garcia missed weight, it was still a one-sided loss. Garcia’s failed VADA tests for Ostarine could turn it into a no-contest if Ryan cannot prove his innocence.
But Haney’s flaws show that he may not be an elite fighter as once claimed. Shakur does not have the commercial value of working with the Saudis. He is missing a big statement win against the top fighters. A win over Haney, Tank Davis, Ryan Garcia or Lopez would take his career to the next level. Until Shakur does not, he has been pigeonholed as a purist boxer who cannot sell.
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