Matchroom has signed WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson to a promotional deal for his subsequent combat towards Joe Cordina on October twelfth on the Kingdom Enviornment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Promoter Eddie Hearn isn’t saying if this can be a one-fight or long-term take care of the 27-year-old Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) with Matchroom. Given the final two performances by Shakur, it will be wiser for Hearn to deal with one-fight offers simply in case he begins shedding.
Hearn says he needs to show Shakur right into a famous person however has a troublesome job as a result of he can’t do it on hype. Shakur has bought to win over followers along with his performances, and he’s failed to try this within the professionals or the amateurs.
He’s by no means been entertaining to look at, and it requires a particular sort of followers who take pleasure in watching fighters that hit and run. Shakur’s model may go over properly within the UK, with him being a retro-version of Naseem Hamed minus the facility and showmanship that he possessed.
The Shakur-Cordina winner will defend towards #1 WBC contender William Zepeda in a combat that shall be ultra-tough for both man. That might be the hurdle that Shakur would want to get previous for him an opportunity to face Gervonta Davis subsequent 12 months if a deal could be reached between them.
“I’ve made it clear that I need the most important names and the most important fights within the sport,” stated Shakur. “Deliver on William Zepeda on the high of 2025, and I’m prepared for anybody who’s courageous sufficient to step within the ring with me. There have been few prepared to tackle that problem lately.”
Fighters aren’t afraid of Shakur. They’re apprehensive about him transferring across the ring all evening, touchdown pecking photographs, and being given a questionable choice, like in his combat towards Edwin De Los Santos.
That efficiency by Shakur poisoned the properly, making him an outcast among the many high fighters at 135, who don’t like the thought of chasing a fighter who’s afraid to interact across the ring for twelve rounds. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh gave Shakur the monicker, ‘Outlaw,’ however ‘Outcast’ or ‘Pariah’ can be extra becoming.
“This younger man ought to be a worldwide famous person, and I imagine with our machine behind him, he’ll land all the large fights and obtain all of the credit score that he deserves,” stated Hearn about Shakur. “The journey begins on October 12 in Riyadh on an enormous card, and we can not look forward to the long run collectively.”
It’s not possible to power followers to love watching Shakur sufficient to show him right into a “international famous person” like Hearn would love him to be. If you happen to strapped followers to a chair and took the channel changer away, they is perhaps prepared to look at him, however he’s not must-see TV or somebody that followers would wish to pay to see on PPV until he had been on the undercard of a giant combat, just like the October twelfth match between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Followers anticipate extra from fighters now, and it’s not prefer it was when there was nothing else to look at for leisure. Shakur is at all times going to be somebody that solely a small choose variety of followers will wish to watch as a result of he doesn’t curiosity many followers preferring to see thrilling fighters like Gervonta Davis, William Zepeda, and Canelo Alvarez.
Stevenson has seemed very shaky since transferring as much as 135, and it doesn’t seem like a very good match for him to combat on this division. He’s not been crushed but, however he got here near in his combat towards De Los Santos final November.
🚨 @ShakurStevenson has formally signed with @MatchroomBoxing 🙌 pic.twitter.com/FKxqONIjbu
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 22, 2024
