Matchroom has signed WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson to a promotional deal for his next fight against Joe Cordina on October 12th at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Promoter Eddie Hearn isn’t saying if this is a one-fight or long-term deal with the 27-year-old Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) with Matchroom. Given the last two performances by Shakur, it would be wiser for Hearn to focus on one-fight deals just in case he starts losing.
Hearn says he wants to turn Shakur into a superstar but has a tough job because he can’t do it on hype. Shakur has got to win over fans with his performances, and he’s failed to do that in the pros or the amateurs.
He’s never been entertaining to watch, and it requires a special type of fans who enjoy watching fighters that hit and run. Shakur’s style might go over well in the UK, with him being a retro-version of Naseem Hamed minus the power and showmanship that he possessed.
The Shakur-Cordina winner will defend against #1 WBC contender William Zepeda in a fight that will be ultra-tough for either guy. That would be the hurdle that Shakur would need to get past for him a chance to face Gervonta Davis next year if a deal can be reached between them.
“I’ve made it clear that I want the biggest names and the biggest fights in the sport,” said Shakur. “Bring on William Zepeda at the top of 2025, and I’m ready for anyone who is brave enough to step in the ring with me. There have been few willing to take on that challenge in recent years.”
Fighters aren’t afraid of Shakur. They’re worried about him moving around the ring all night, landing pecking shots, and being given a questionable decision, like in his fight against Edwin De Los Santos.
That performance by Shakur poisoned the well, making him an outcast among the top fighters at 135, who don’t like the idea of chasing a fighter who is afraid to engage around the ring for twelve rounds. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh gave Shakur the monicker, ‘Outlaw,’ but ‘Outcast’ or ‘Pariah’ would be more fitting.
“This young man should be a global superstar, and I believe with our machine behind him, he will land all the big fights and receive all the credit that he deserves,” said Hearn about Shakur. “The journey begins on October 12 in Riyadh on a huge card, and we cannot wait for the future together.”
It’s impossible to force fans to like watching Shakur enough to turn him into a “global superstar” like Hearn would like him to be. If you strapped fans to a chair and took the channel changer away, they might be willing to watch him, but he’s not must-see TV or someone that fans would want to pay to see on PPV unless he were on the undercard of a big fight, like the October 12th match between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Fans expect more from fighters now, and it’s not like it used to be when there was nothing else to watch for entertainment. Shakur is always going to be someone that only a small select number of fans will want to watch because he doesn’t interest many fans who prefer to see exciting fighters like Gervonta Davis, William Zepeda, and Canelo Alvarez.
Stevenson has looked very shaky since moving up to 135, and it doesn’t look like a good fit for him to fight in this division. He’s not been beaten yet, but he came close to in his fight against De Los Santos last November.
