Oscar De La Hoya is without doubt one of the promoters excited about signing free agent Shakur Stevenson to his Golden Boy steady.
De La Hoya states that he should decide Shakur’s marketability and match him towards the precise opponents.
Though Golden Boy has the #1 ranked William Zepeda on their roster, nobody else would make sense to make use of as an opponent for Shakur that might entice fan curiosity.
Furthermore, if De La Hoya indicators Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) to a 4 or five-fight deal and he loses to Zepeda in his first battle, his marketability will plummet. That may be a catastrophe for De La Hoya and Shakur if he misplaced to Zepeda.
Oscar could be caught with Shakur till the tip of his contract earlier than he may stroll away from his mistake.
De La Hoya promoted Floyd Mayweather Jr. for 15 to 16 fights throughout his profession, and he’s nicely conscious of the necessity to have the right opponents for a fighter to assist them.
Figuring out the Proper Opponents
“I imagine there’s a risk. It relies on what I wish to supply him, and it relies on what fighters I’ve on my roster. It relies on their imaginative and prescient,” mentioned promoter Oscar De La Hoya to the media when requested if he believes he can signal free agent Shakur Stevenson to his Golden Boy Promotions steady.
De La Hoya desires to match Shakur towards Zepeda, however that’s not a good suggestion except he indicators him for only one battle. That means, if Shakur loses to Zepeda, Golden Boy nonetheless comes out forward. Zepeda’s recognition would develop, and it wouldn’t matter that Shakur’s profession could be over.
To make sure that Shakur retains profitable, he have to be matched towards fighters like his final opponent, Artem Harutyunyan. He can beat fighters like him, not huge punchers or stress fighters.
Shakur’s drawback is that he doesn’t possess the facility to be a real high participant at 135. He’s not the identical fighter on this weight class as at 126 and 130. His final two fights towards Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos have proven that.
If Shakur is matched towards Zepeda, he loses. The identical is true if he’s put in with Gervonta Davis, Floyd Schofield, and Abdullah Mason. Even Frank Martin would significantly threaten Shakur on account of his energy and stress.
Blueprint for Success: The Mayweather Mannequin
“I promoted Mayweather for 15 or 16 fights. So there’s sort of like a blueprint there. He wants opponents. He wants the precise names. He wants William Zepeda,” De La Hoya continued about Shakur Stevenson. “He’s an incredible expertise. I believe he’s the most effective high three guys on the market on the earth, and he’s nonetheless younger.”
Mayweather was a unique story than Shakur. De La Hoya matched Mayweather towards good opposition with out worrying about him shedding.
He can’t try this with Shakur as a result of he’ll lose. De Los Santos nearly beat him. The one decide that scored it appropriately had Shakur profitable by a slender 115-113 margin, and that’s how shut the battle was.
De Los Santos is nowhere close to the extent of lots of the extra proficient light-weight fighters, and people guys would beat Shakur or ship him operating.
Figuring out Stevenson’s Market Worth
“I’m unsure what his market worth is, and that’s what’s making it slightly tough. It makes it tough for Prime Rank and Bob [Arum] to find out what the worth is. It doesn’t assist when Shakur tells the world, ‘Nicely, I don’t battle for the individuals. I battle for me,’” mentioned De La Hoya.
“You’ve bought to battle for the followers. The followers pay you. The followers are those who purchase the tickets and purchase the pay-per-views.”
Shakur will deliver good scores in a battle towards Zepeda, and a match between him and Tank Davis will do nicely. Nevertheless, he seemingly loses each fights and would should be rebuilt with gentle opposition for 4 or 5 fights. If Shakur must be propped up after a loss, that’s not good for his marketability or DAZN.
Conditional Signing
“Regardless, I believe Shakur is without doubt one of the finest fighters on the market. If it is smart for us, then I’m positive we will work one thing out,” mentioned De La Hoya about doubtlessly signing Shakur Stevenson to his Golden Boy steady.
The most effective technique could be for De La Hoya to signal Shakur for one battle in a conditional signing and throw him in a sink-or-swim scenario towards William Zepeda. If he loses that battle, wash your palms off him.
