Shakur Slams Arum For Wrecking His Career – ‘Just Shut Up’
Shakur Stevenson has slammed Bob Arum for hinting that Shakur will struggle to sign with another promoter once his Top Rank deal is over.
Stevenson faces Artem Harutyunyan in his next fight on July 6 after which he is free to explore his free agency. Under his deal with Top Rank, he has failed to get the biggest fights. Fights with Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez could have been made. They are both with Top Rank and are fights that would sell to the public. Shakur is a three-division champion, something which Top Rank helped him achieve.
However, for the next stage of his development, he is looking to leave. A deal with Matchroom potentially offers him the Devin Haney fight. Meanwhile, signing with PBC takes him a step closer to the Gervonta Davis bout. While he could extend his deal with Top Rank to potentially get the Loma and Lopez fights, Stevenson was unhappy with Arum’s comments. Arum suggested that Shakur’s commercial value was low, leaving them with fewer options.
Arum On Shakur
“The problem is, he won’t be because I talked to Eddie [Hearn] in England, and Eddie said, ‘I ain’t going to pay him the money you guys pay him. I don’t think Al Haymon [of PBC] is looking to add any more fighters. Many of his fighters are leaving because he doesn’t have the dates. So, Shakur is between a rock and a hard place. He’s a very good fighter, and I love promoting him.
“Shakur, because of his style, doesn’t. He’s a great fighter, but he doesn’t have a tremendous following. So, to get a level A fighter to fight him, they say, ‘Why? We’re going to have a tough time beating him if we can ever beat him, and what does he bring to the table?’ That’s the problem in boxing,” Arum said
Terence Crawford faced similar issues when he was with Top Rank. Despite being the WBO Welterweight Champion, he could not secure the undisputed fight with Errol Spence Jr. There was a perception that Crawford did not sell many tickets, while his boxing style did not resonate with the casuals, only the purists.
Shakur Responds
Once he left Top Rank, he signed with PBC to beat Spence and become a pound-for-pound great. He is working closely with the Saudis as he will headline Riyadh Seasons’ first overseas card on August 3 in Los Angeles against Israil Madrimov. Should he beat Madrimov, there is the potential for a mega fight with Canelo Alvarez. Shakur could follow the same blueprint, which is why he did not have too much time for Arum.
“He was basically putting it out there that I don’t go no other options out there but Top Rank, and ‘Go see the market and go come back and see us.’ And then he was saying conversations that he and Eddie Hearn were allegedly having. We don’t know if it’s true or not.
“I think Bob should just shut up, and allow the people that’s running his company to run his company because he’s not even running his own company. I don’t know. I don’t count nothing out. It’s business,” Shakur stated
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