Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn hopes to reel the large catfish Shakur Stevenson into his internet with him attending the Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. David Avanesyan occasion this Saturday evening, July thirteenth, on the Wells Fargo Middle in Philadelphia.
The Bait: A Promising Platform & Bold Guarantees
No matter deal Hearn is planning to supply Shakur, it’s received to high the $15 million that High Rank provided him to re-up for one more hitch.
“Shakur Stevenson is likely one of the most talked about fighters on this planet,” mentioned Hearn to Secondsout’s YouTube channel. “I do know I could make him a star; that’s simple for me. I’ve received the dates, I’ve received the platform, I’ve received the megaphone – let’s do it.”
Assuming Shakur desires double that quantity, that’s some huge cash for Hearn to spend money on a fighter who could by no means grow to be a PPV attraction and will lose as soon as he’s matched robust for the primary time at light-weight in opposition to his #1 contender William Zepeda.
If Shakur will get crushed proper off the bat in a brand new contract with Matchroom, hopefully, Hearn may have an emergency escape clause that permits him to chop him free to keep away from being caught with him for one more 4 to 6 fights.
Reworking a Uninteresting Fighter right into a Celebrity
Hearn is keen to signal WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson and shortly construct him right into a mega-star. He feels that his promotional work can accomplish this shortly. Followers are skeptical of any promoter reworking a boring fighter like Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) into a real bonafide star.
There are a lot of boring fighters like Shakur within the sport, and so they don’t grow to be stars. Hearn has an analogous fighter to him, Richardson Hitchins, who has failed to achieve any recognition with the identical risk-averse type and self-promoting.
The followers’ tastes have modified because the Mayweather period, and so they now need to see motion fighters like Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia. Shakur’s combating type is outdated. Shakur Stevenson is extra of a Mayweather and Devin Haney kind of fighter; he performs it protected and does the minimal to win.
Shakur’s contract with High Rank expired final weekend, and he rejected their $15 million provide to re-ink with them for 5 extra fights. Stevenson desires to signal with a promotional firm that may land him the granddaddy of fights, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. That’s the one which he prizes greater than any, and he thinks he can win.
It’s questionable whether or not Shakur can win, given his lack of energy and historical past of selecting to not have interaction when combating punchers. The Tank struggle will nonetheless make some huge cash because of the hype going into it, even when it fails to ship, leaving followers feeling ripped off like they did when Floyd Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao.
