Shakur Criticized For Rejecting $15 Million Top Rank Deal – ‘You’re Not Putting People In Seats’
Shakur Stevenson made the wrong decision by turning down a $15 million contract from Top Rank.
That is according to Tim Bradley. Stevenson had his last fight with Top Rank, beating Artem Harutyunyan via a unanimous decision. It capped off a successful period with Top Rank, which helped him remain undefeated as a three-weight world champion. While that may have been the case, Shakur struggled to make the biggest fights. Fights with Teofimo Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko failed to dispute them, as they were all with Top Rank.
Shakur has also not helped himself with his fighting style. His win over Edwin De Los Santos was criticized for being too defensive, resulting in boos from the crowd. The same happened when Shakur faced Artem. There were some jeers as Shakur failed to stop Artem. Some boxing fans also made their exit before the final round, knowing Shakur would not get the stoppage. Stevenson was told to step on the gas to get the stoppage during his time in the corner. He failed to do so, resulting in an uneventful one-sided unanimous decision win. But looking back, Bradley felt it was a good amount of money.
Bradley Reacts
“Should he have taken that $15 million [offer from Top Rank] deal? Absolutely. He should have taken that $15 million deal. No doubt about it. You got to think about this. It’s a $3 million minimum. It doesn’t matter who he faces. If he faces Tank Davis, of course, he’s going to make more money.
“If he faces Lomachenko, of course, he’s going to make more money. That’s a baseline price right there. “People were leaving that arena. If he was going to get that knockout, people would have waited there to see it unfold. He missed that opportunity, and the reason he missed that opportunity is because he was arguing with his grandfather inside the corner,” Bradley said
Shakur’s Future
Since then, Shakur has had plenty of interest. Stevenson had a FaceTime with Floyd Mayweather, hinting he could sign with PBC. Meanwhile, Eddie Hearn is willing to work with Shakur and provide a deal that can be struck for both parties. Oscar De La Hoya has also shown interest in making the William Zepeda fight. Shakur’s problem is that he will struggle to operate on a fight-by-fight basis.
He is not a big PPV star, which would have allowed him to move around networks to find the best deal. If he signs a long-term deal, Shakur risks being put on the shelf if he cannot make the big fights. His talent is enough to get the attention of the Saudis. However, his boxing style may not resonate with the audience unless he gets the biggest fights that bring out the best in him. But that will be tough to achieve.
“As far as his marketability goes, it’s going to be hard for him. I don’t know where he’s going to go from here. I don’t know if he’s going to go with Terence Crawford. Turki Alalshikh, is he going to invest in Shakur Stevenson? He wants more money. I get it. I’m talking about marketability. If you are not putting people in the seats, it’s hard for you to demand as much money as this young man is demanding. $3 million is a lot of money,” Bradley stated
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