Shakur Stevenson won an Olympic silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, and eight months later he made his professional debut for Top Rank.
Bob Arum, founder and CEO of Top Rank, signed Stevenson when he was 19, the only promoter the champion has ever worked with. Seven years later, their relationship is sure to change after Stevenson successfully defends his WBC lightweight title on Saturday against Artem Harutyunyan.
Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) dominated — he was a -3,500 favorite, according to ESPN BET — but he couldn’t secure the thrilling victory he wanted. Boos rang out at the end of the fight as Stevenson cruised to a unanimous decision victory over an underdog for the second straight time. This time, the boos came from his hometown fans at the Prudential Center in Newark, Up-to-date Jersey.
Stevenson, 27, said the taunts were aimed at Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KOs) because he “didn’t really try to fight.” And while it’s true that neither Harutyunyan nor Edwin De Los Santos — Stevenson’s last opponent in November — pressed the action, the onus was on the immensely talented Stevenson to find a way to finish his opponent.
Now Stevenson will have to test his free agent position after a lackluster win that was not at all the performance he had hoped for.
Stevenson turned down a five-fight contract extension with Top Rank, sources told ESPN, because it would have guaranteed the boxer $3 million per fight.
He could sign with a rival promoter — PBC, Matchroom, Golden Boy, etc. — or remain a free agent and enjoy the flexibility offered by fighters like Devin Haney and his mentor, Terence Crawford.
“Honestly, I want to start my own promotional company and just work with promoters and do a lot of short-term stuff so I’m not locked in and tied to someone,” Stevenson told ESPN on June 30.
Stevenson lamented not getting the KO, and while he blamed Harutyunyan, he also looked inward. The champion said he needed to improve his ability to cut off the ring.
Outside the ring, Stevenson will be navigating uncharted waters. Eddie Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Sport, has publicly expressed interest in a deal with Stevenson. There are sure to be plenty of other promoters who will also be after Stevenson. He is, after all, an undefeated champion, ranked No. 8 by ESPN pound-for-pound.
It looks like Stevenson is ready for a change.
Before Saturday’s fight, Stevenson felt Top Rank had not done enough to promote his fight with Harutyunyan because he declined a contract extension.
“I just feel like they want me to promote the fight and do the things that do the job that they’re supposed to do,” Stevenson said. “… I just feel like I’m not part of the promotional team anymore. … I just wish that at the end of my contract, if we were to start working, it would be better than this.
“I feel like they promoted me well until the end of my contract, until the moment my contract was about to end. And then everything started to drift and change.”
Still, Stevenson wasn’t ready to close the door on a reunion with Top Rank.
“Shakur Stevenson’s contract situation did not in any way impact Top Rank’s promotional efforts for his fight with Artem Harutyunyan,” Top Rank spokesman Evan Korn told ESPN. “Shakur is an incredibly talented fighter, and the passionate crowd at the Prudential Center was a testament to the efforts of both parties.”
Regardless, Stevenson knew he needed a mighty performance on Saturday, especially after a lackluster win over De Los Santos.
Stevenson defeated De Los Santos by scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 116-112, with boos echoing throughout the fight. Stevenson and De Los Santos failed to land double-digit punches in any of the 12 rounds.
Instead of returning to the ring sooner and putting his impoverished performance behind him, Stevenson waited eight months to fight Harutyunyan.
“I asked Top Rank, ‘Can I come back early?’ I had one more fight on my contract. And with everything with Top Rank, they wouldn’t let me do that,” Stevenson said. “They made sure I got pushed back to June, July. June was the original date they gave me. And then, somehow, it ended up being July. … I said, ‘Can I come back in March?’ Honestly, I wanted to come back right away … but they made me wait so long.
“I think I’m the best player on the roster and I didn’t take the offer they wanted, so I feel like they wanted to move me as far away as possible.”
Stevenson should have no one else to blame soon. As a promotional free agent, Stevenson will be calling the shots as he fights for the fight that has eluded him. ESPN’s top two fighters at Stevenson’s 135-pound weight, Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko, are in negotiations to fight each other this fall.
Lomachenko is also promoted by Top Rank, and Stevenson pushed for the fight but it never happened. Davis, one of boxing’s biggest stars, is with PBC.
Stevenson said he would explore a move up to 140 pounds “for the money fights” and mentioned Mexican Isaac Cruz, a champion who is building a gigantic fan base. He’s with PBC.
There’s also Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez. Lopez, who Top Rank promotes, is the 140-pound champion. Garcia is suspended until April 2025 and has said he won’t make 140. Haney could end up at 140, too.
Stevenson’s most appetizing, viable option may be Mexico’s William Zepeda, who put on another thrilling performance Saturday night, knocking out Giovanni Cabrera in the third round. Zepeda, a Golden Boy boxer, is one step away from a title shot.
“I haven’t spoken to Shakur,” Golden Boy Promotions founder and head promoter Oscar De La Hoya said on DAZN before Zepeda’s win. “I love his style. I love that he’s a very talented fighter. There’s no doubt about it. … I just feel like William Zepeda can beat anyone. … William Zepeda and Shakur Stevenson is a fight that people would like to see. … I’d like to work with Shakur Stevenson.”
Stevenson, meanwhile, has already won titles in three divisions. So what’s missing? Megafights, and now he won’t be burdened by boxing’s promotional politics as he seeks them out.
“I mean, I definitely don’t want to close the door, but I think [Top Rank is] more ready to close the door than I am,” Stevenson said. “So honestly, if they’re saying f— to me, they are. That’s how I feel.”
The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered world cruiserweight champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KO) to make a mandatory title defense against Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1), number 1 in the WBC ranking – 1, 19 KOs).
If both camps fail to successfully negotiate an agreement, the WBC will organize a tender on February 4, followed by the Jack vs. Rozicki. Rozicki’s promoter, Three Lions Promotions, immediately sent Team Jacek an offer to promote the fight in Canada last week.
“We are waiting for their counteroffer,” explained promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions. “Boxing has had a huge resurgence in Canada and Ryan is leading the way. He is one of the most electrifying and hardest-hitting fighters in boxing, definitely in the cruiserweight division. He wants the WBC green belt and ultimately the unification of the division. Ryan will fight Jack anywhere for the belt.”
29-year-old Rozicki, born in Sydney (Nova Scotia) and living in Hamilton (Ontario), fought 22 professional fights against 21 different opponents (twice against Yamil Alberto Peralta), stopping 19 of the 20 opponents he defeated. an eye-opening 95-KO percentage.
Jack, 41, was a 2008 Olympian representing his native Sweden. He is a three-division world champion, as well as the WBC super middleweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight heavyweight title holder. Jack has a record of 5-0-2 (2 KO) in world championship fights.
“We respect Jack and I don’t want to sound disrespectful,” Otter added, “but he’s over 40 years vintage and has been relatively inactive for two years (only one fight). He brings a lot of experience and respect to the ring, but he will fight a newborn defender with a lot of power. Jack is going to struggle and honestly, I don’t think he’ll make it past the first few rounds.”
Ryan Rozicki is on a mission to become the first Canadian cruiserweight world champion.
Floyd Mayweather’s incredible 50-0 record is not normal and cannot be repeated in sports for another seventy years.
This is the view of Saudi Arabian president Turki Alalshikh, who wants to adopt the UFC model in which fighters lose many fights during their career.
In a speech as he hosted the Ring Magazine Awards after acquiring the long-running boxing publication from Oscar De La Hoya, Alalshikh was unequivocal in his opinion.
“Now losing some fights in boxing must be normal,” he explained. “All fighters want a career similar to Floyd Mayweather – no losses. This may happen once every 50, 60 or 70 years.
“We need it [to be] like currently in the UFC model, where champions lose and win,” added the matchmaker during the Riyad season.
Mayweather rose through the sport in the tardy 1990s to become one of its youngest superstars. Mayweather’s professional success came after winning a bronze medal at the Olympics after losing to Serafim Todorov.
Winning world titles in five weight classes, Mayweather was untouchable. The Grand Rapids native only came close to defeat a few times. He dominated Manny Pacquiao and overtook Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya after heated debates, with decisions that should have been made unanimously.
Towards the end of his career, Mayweather chose to face Andre Berto and Conor McGregor, easily winning and ending his boxing career at the age of 50 without ever going out. Calling himself “the greatest of all time,” Mayweather earned first-ballot Hall of Fame honors and is widely considered one of, if not the greatest defensive fighter of all time.
However, Alalshikh says this type of career needs to end so that fans can get the most out of boxing, as is the case with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Boxing needs to become more attractive, and Alalshikh sees the failures of top stars as a way to keep interest at an all-time high.
In this sport, many boxers enjoy undefeated streaks, the most notable of which is Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian Pound for Pound King is 23-0 and has beaten the best he has to offer in his division and cruiserweight classification.
It remains a mystery how Alalshikh plans to make Usyk suffer while he dominates everyone else. By the time his grand plan goes into action, Usyk will be long gone, and Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney may be more realistic targets.
WBN understands that despite alternative options emerging, it is more likely that Manny Pacquiao will face Mario Barrios next.
Bob Santos, coach of WBC welterweight champion Barrios, told World Boxing News that he is currently in contact with Pacquiao’s team. Asked by WBN if he had spoken to Pacquiao or representatives of any other challenger, Santos replied: “Yes, Pacquiao’s promoter, Sean Gibbons.” Pressed on whether Barrios vs Pacquiao might happen next, he added: “It’s challenging to say. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”
WBN contacted Santos after Conor Benn emerged as a potential alternative to Barrios. The British fighter, who recently returned from a suspension following two positive drug tests, is keen to return to competition.
Benn showed favor with the World Boxing Council at the recent WBC Convention, the WBC Evaluation Committee and during an interview with the sanctioning body over the weekend. “The Destroyer” is ranked second in the rankings at 147 pounds, despite less than solid opponents during his time in exile, during which Benn competed twice in the United States while his career in the United Kingdom was in doubt.
As he battled to clear his name and with the British Anti-Doping Authority finding no evidence that Benn had intentionally taken ostarine, the 28-year-old’s career took a pointed nosedive. Despite this, he remains highly rated and at least one step away from fighting for an eliminator or one of the remaining championship titles.
However, Pacquiao remains Barrios’ favorite. Now it’s up to the boxing legend and Hall of Famer who got the first votes to secure his shot. WBN believes a July date – most likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – is the most realistic date for a Nevada swan song.
Pacquiao could extend his record as the oldest welterweight champion by six years if he can secure a huge victory over the 29-year-old world champion. At 46 years antique, such a scenario remains unlikely, but he can never be compared to one of the greatest players of this generation.
Unlike heavier boxers and his training regiment, Pacquiao looks in great shape despite his advanced age. Everything is set for a massive return to the boxing capital of the world, provided Pacquiao and his team can manage his political ambitions, which are expected to run from this month until May. After that time, Pacquiao could find himself in the summer finals and become the all-time champion, regardless of the result.
Barrios is based in the city, where he trained with Santos, and would be the perfect opponent to see out the career of one of the greatest fighters in history.
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