The big boxing news story of the day, of today, may not, indeed most people feel it will not, prove to be much of a story at all. Will Shakur Stevenson, at age 26, really retire, as he has – as you have no doubt read or heard by now – announced via social media? “Hell, no!” I hear you cry. And you are almost certainly right. Yes, Stevenson, who says he “ain’t f*****g with this weak boxing game,” is frustrated, and has been for some time, over the way certain fighters have ducked him and are ducking him.
But retire, with his prime years not yet reached, with so many $millions ahead of him? No way. We have, over the past few months, seen “fake” retirement announcements by other stars of the game, including Tyson Fury (who was guilty of announcing his retirement way more than once) and Teofimo Lopez. Now, here comes Shakur insisting he is done. But nobody believes Stevenson.
Maybe the gifted, unbeaten southpaw will take a break from the ring, this as he continues to wait for big fights with the likes of the Vasiliy Lomachenko-George Kambosos winner, Tank Davis and others. But he WILL be back. Stevenson, 21-0(10) WILL fight again. As one fight fan has already asked, what else would Stevenson do with his life? Sure, he could become a trainer, but with so much natural talent, Stevenson would be crazy to fail to fully realise it.
What Stevenson wants, and deserves, is a fair shake, with his fellow elites agreeing to face him in the ring and with the promoters doing their utmost to make these fights happen. There may have been something that happened very recently that served to tick Shakur off, however, and that this is the reason he reflexively took to X to make his shock retirement announcement. Maybe this something was the news of how three-weight champ Emanuel Navarrete will fight Denys Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight title, or the fight at least having been ordered by the WBO?
Stevenson actually posted how news of this ordered fight is “sickening.”
So, was this the last straw for Shakur? Maybe.
Only time will tell if Stevenson really does retire, but until he vacates his WBC 135 pound title, fans will of course remain hugely sceptical. Also, Stevenson has one fight left to honor with his deal with Top Rank. Let’s see if Stevenson honors this one fight and then continues with his career as a free agent.
Again, today’s big news story may turn out to be no real story at all.
