Shakur Stevenson Is Open To Facing Frank Martin; Crawford’s Coach Mocks Lopez
Shakur Stevenson is open to fighting Frank Martin after talks over a fight broke down.
The pair were on course to face each other for the then-vacant WBC Lightweight Title. The belt became vacant after Devin Haney decided to up to 135 pounds. Stevenson was Haney’s mandatory, meaning he was now required to fight the next-highest-ranked fighter. As things would play out, Martin was in a position to fight for the belt.
Shakur On Martin
Terms had been agreed upon, but Martin pulled out at the last minute. Shakur claimed Martin demanded a 50-50 split for the fight to happen. But since he had not won a single world title, compared to Shakur, a three-division champion, those comments did not sit well with him. Stevenson faced Edwin De Los Santos as he won a unanimous decision to grab the belt. Now that the dust had settled down somewhat, Stevenson was ready to revisit that fight.
“I’ll spin the block. I don’t turn down no smoke. I’m with fighting whoever comes to the table and it makes sense. If Frank Martin makes sense, then yeah, let’s do it. It’s all on him. He said no, I can’t control what the other fighter says,” Shakur said
Crawford’s Coach On Lopez
Just as Shakur is ready to visit the idea of a fight, Terence Crawford’s coach, Bernie Davis, has accused Teofimo Lopez of not being serious about fighting Bud. Lopez is preparing to take on Jamaine Ortiz during Super Bowl Week on February 8, 2024. He has set his sights on facing Crawford if he comes through with a win. Lopez called out Bud as he questioned the nature of his biggest wins.
The Takeover claimed that Bud’s biggest wins had serious question marks over them as his opponents were not 100 per cent. He claimed Kell Brook, Errol Spence Jr. and Jose Benavidez Jr. had issues coming into the fight.
Crawford responded by dismissing the idea of a fight by urging Lopez to focus on his weight class. Lopez does have possible unifications with Devin Haney and Subriel Matias, which are mega fights. Now, Davis has responded by doubting Lopez’s intentions.
“It’s picking and choosing right now. Teofimo wouldn’t even look at Bud. ‘How are you going to want to fight me, and you wouldn’t stand to me right here?’ Crawford is going to kill that boy. Crawford still has that eye of the tiger. Definitely, he ain’t going to do it because of Bob Arum [of Top Rank]. He’s indebted to Bob Arum. He took a big plunge with that. He’s stuck with Bob Arum. he can’t just get out and do what he wants. Even the fake retirement. Teofimo drives me nuts, but he got them championships…He’s just delusional. He’s doing his thing, but leave Crawford out of it. Go fight Tank. You got a big name. Go fight Haney,” Davis said
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