Shakur Stevenson Needs A Mayweather-Esque Performance – ‘He’s Very Boring’
Shakur Stevenson needs a massive moment to boost his popularity.
That is according to Cris Algieri. Shakur defends his WBC Lightweight Title against Artem Harutyunyan. He acquired the belt after beating Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant title. But the performance from Stevenson was criticized. He was boxing on the outside, while De Los Santos failed to cut the ring off. Shakur’s injury coming into the fight did not help. However, that was overlooked, with the wider boxing community being unhappy with the performance.
Algeri Reacts
Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia were critical of that performance. Those are Shakur’s rivals, allowing him to make the biggest fights. Stevenson is currently undefeated with a 21-0 record. He is a three-weight world champion known for being one of the most technically skilled boxers. While that may be the case, he only has ten knockouts to his name. He may resonate with the purists, but the casual fan base is a different ball game. Atlas felt Shakur needed a statement performance to capture the public’s attention.
“He has a great amateur background, an Olympian. As a pro, he’s been moving along very fast, progressing great. He’s had some ups and down in terms of what people think about his performances, but all boxing people understand what they’re watching, understand that he’s a next-level guy. He would give anyone trouble if not beat everyone around him.
“I think a lot of people still in the group that would say that he could beat all of these guys, and he can. He definitely has that ability. The pound-for-pound guys are always the guys with the best defense. Defense is what separates champions.The elite guys don’t get hit. Shakur is one of the best defensive fighters in the game today, and he creates a lot of openings. The issue is he’s not the most exciting fighter at all, which is me being nice. A lot of guys think he’s very boring,” Algieri said
Atlas Reacts
Shakur is in the final fight of his deal with Top Rank. He shows no signs that he will sign an extension. If that is the case, he will explore free agency. The problem Shakur will have is that he cannot command big purses. He does not sell well, nor does he have an attacking game. He is seen as a high-risk, low-reward fight.
However, Terence Crawford showed that once he left Top Rank, he was able to get bigger fights. He signed a deal to face Errol Spence Jr. He would stop Spence in the ninth round to become the first Undisputed Welterweight Champion of the four-belt era. Now, Crawford headlines against Israil Madrimov on August 3. A win makes him a four-weight world champion, with the possibility of chasing a Canelo Alvarez fight for undisputed at 168. Teddy Atlas felt Shakur needed a stellar performance.
“He’s not only hard to beat but to look good against. That’s why a lot of guys don’t want to fight him. There’s no getting around it. He’s boring. It depends on what your taste is. If you want to see home runs, you stay at home. You’re not watching Stevenson,” Atlas said
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