Following the recent official news of Shakur Stevenson signing with Matchroom, his promoter Eddie Hearn discusses his plans for Stevenson while touching on his ideas regarding Jaron Ennis and others. You can check out some excerpts from Hearn below, and the full video interview is at the top.

After signing Shakur Stevenson

“I really feel like I’ve been promoting Shakur Stevenson for years because I’ve been talking about him for years… I know my boxing and I know how good this kid is. He may be unbeatable, I know he’s a star who fights non-stop, there’s something about Shakur Stevenson’s mentality that makes me confident he’ll beat everyone.

“I think he has been hugely underrated. I think he should be not only an American superstar, but also a world star. I think he’s edgy, I think he’s got balls, I think he’s incredibly talented and I’ll do everything in my power to give him the platform and promotional push his skills deserve.

“For Shakur, the plan is for Joe Cordina to have two fights, and if he wins, a fight with Zepeda. And during this period we will show him our value. We will work closely together, Gervonta Davis, everyone. I hope these two fights will decide Shakur Stevenson’s career at Matchroom.”

About Stevenson’s fight with Cordina, which was not well received by fans

“I think it’s a really, really good fight… Stylistically, it’s a great fight for Joe Cordina and it’s actually a great fight for boxing. Two truly talented fighters. I think it will be a great fight and Shakur is a huge favorite for this fight, but Joe coming off the loss to Cacace and having the extra weight at lightweight, this is the right fight.

“It’s not witty, the last guy Shakur Stevenson boxed, Joe beat him easily, and probably the guys before that. So Joe is a earnest fighter…

“For me, we go with Joe Cordina, William Zepeda and Gervonta Davis. For me, once we do our job in these six months, Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson will be the biggest fight in boxing. But we make our own moves. We’re not chasing Tank, we’re chasing greatness, but that comes with Tank because he’s an unbelievable fighter.”

About his plans for Jaron “Boots” Ennis

“That’s why we made offers to Brian Norman, the WBO champion; Barrios, WBC champion; and Stanionis, the WBA champion. They were all rejected. The one I think has legs – and I’ve seen him and his father in the last 24 hours – is Brian Norman, the WBO champion. We have already made two offers to Top Rank for Brian Norman, both of which were rejected pleasantly – I mean, we get on very well with Top Rank.

“Yesterday he posted a post in which he wrote: ‘we made a counter-offer.’ We did not receive any counter-offer. So Brian, if you want to make a counteroffer, hurry up and do it. But I want to fight this fight and if Brian Norman has the balls and if Brian Norman is real, Brian, if you’re real, let’s go. Let’s speed it up, let’s do this fight, because these are the fights we should be fighting.

“Brian Norman says Boots isn’t the boogeyman, he’s overrated. If you believe that, let’s end this fight. It’s a great fight between two brilliant American fighters.”

Shakur Stevenson is no longer a free agent, as Matchroom Boxing announced today that it has signed the WBC lightweight champion ahead of his title defense against Joe Cordina on October 12.

“I am ready to begin the next chapter of my career, which begins on October 12 with Joe Cordina on the season card in Riyad, Saudi Arabia,” Stevenson said.

“I made it clear that I wanted the biggest names and the biggest fights in the sport. Put William Zepeda on top in 2025 and I’ll be ready for anyone brave enough to step into the ring with me. In recent years, there have been few people willing to take up this challenge.

With Matchroom and Riyadh Season, I am joining forces with a promotional force that matches my world-class talent. We will be unstoppable in and out of the ring, and I will continue to demonstrate my dominance in boxing for many years to come.”

The press release did not specify how long their cooperation will last. Juliusz Julianis previously reported that Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO) was only going to stay with them for one fight, but it appears he will be working with Matchroom for the Zepeda fight as well. Considering how close Matchroom is to Golden Boy, this seems like the easiest way.

Earlier this year, the WBC announced that Zepeda would be a mandatory fighter, but according to Mike Coppinger, Zepeda wanted to delay it in preparation for the birth of his child.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is yet to give up on his dream of creating a version of Eubank vs Benn for this generation, despite facing several hurdles in previous attempts. Chris Eubank Jr has openly stated that he is still interested in fighting Conor Benn, and Eddie Hearn is behind it and expects that they may be able to arrange it in the first quarter of 2025.

Hearn in Eubank Jr included Benn on his hit list

“Chris Eubank Jr means one thing, it starts with an ‘m’, ends with a ‘y’ and has a ‘one’ in the middle. It’s written “money”, that’s all he cares about. He doesn’t care about the legacy, he doesn’t care about the championship, he wants the money. And the monks are supposed to fight Conor Benn.

“So, Chris Eubank Jr, you can talk about this fight, talk about that fight, but if you want the money, let’s play. And we will play in the first quarter of 2025.”

About Benn’s current situation

“Just as. We are waiting for the decision, he is settling matters with his lawyers. “Hopefully he will be ready to fight at the end of this year, but no doubt in early 2025, and he is ready to go straight into a money fight with Chris Eubank.”

On Eubank we also ask about Billy Joe Saunders and ask if we will ever see him back in the ring

“I hope so. Billy Joe is an amazing fighter, but each day that passes makes this less likely… that’s a long time out of the ring, but Billy’s biggest problem is that it’s a double-edged sword – he’ll want to say “well, give me a date and give me a plan” , and we’ll want to say, or someone else will say, “well, you have to show us that you’re eight or nine weeks miniature,” because I don’t want to book a venue, book everything and you’ll come to training.

“Like he probably couldn’t concentrate without a date, without an opponent, like a lot of fighters. So I’d love to see Billy go away and spend seven or eight weeks before camp at his actual camp and come back and say, “Listen, I’m here, let’s go.”