“Boxing Fans Are Biased”: Exposing Frank Martin, Shakur Stevenson Expresses Disappointment About Always Being Downplayed

Shakur Stevenson has a fight coming up against Artem Harutyunyan on 6th July at Prudential Center in Newark, but he isn’t happy with fans downplaying his fight. The Newark native is coming off a lackluster unanimous decision win over Edwin De Los Santos in November last year. Despite the win, however, Stevenson’s stock seems to have fallen! Why?

Well, largely because he ran away from actually engaging with De Los Santos, and took home the win with ease. He later revealed that it was because of an injury he sustained to his arm. However, the backlash from this performance proved absolutely devastating for Stevenson’s clout among boxing enthusiasts! So, after Gervonta Davis defeated Frank Martin (Martin had earlier backed out of a fight with Stevenson) on June 15, ‘Sugar’ Stevenson expressed his disappointment with the fans for the treatment meted out to him.

Shakur Stevenson doesn’t like the pedestal fans have put him on

Speaking to Stevenson during an interview today, a reporter from Fight Hype pointed out he is an exceptional boxer, but when it comes to marketability, things aren’t going great for him, asking whether some people have blown it out of proportion. In response, the undefeated boxer said, “Yeah, I think it’s an unfair pedestal that they got me on…”

He explained Davis fought Martin, who Stevenson feels is a “C-level fighter”, but fans are downplaying his fight against Harutyunyan because of the high standards the fans hold Stevenson on and because of Frank Martin’s name. Stevenson even reminded everyone that before he fought De Los Santos, Martin had refused to face him, which made Stevenson “feel like boxing fans are biased.”

It’s also worth mentioning that according to a report from ESPN dated September 10, 2023, Stevenson’s promoter Top Rank had sent a contract to PBC, Martin’s promoter, for their potential fight, but the next day PBC revealed Martin was no longer interested in the fight, which could have seen him earning his career highest payout. Regardless, now that Gervonta Davis is looking for his next opponent, Stevenson’s manager has insisted ‘Sugar’ is the better choice.

Josh Dubin calls Bob Arum’s statement nonsensical

Since Davis’ win over Martin, there have been talks of a fight between Davis and Vasyl Lomachenko. Even Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum, who promotes both Lomachenko and Stevenson, is pushing for this fight to happen. However, speaking about a fight between Davis and Stevenson, he said, “If a fighter doesn’t bring to the table eyeballs, people who will pay to see the match, then it’s really tough to make a big match for them”. However, Shakur’s manager doesn’t agree with Arum. 

It’s also worth mentioning that the Harutyunyan fight will be Stevenson’s last with Top Rank. Regardless, in a conversation with Boxing Scene, Dubin said, “That, in my opinion – and I manage Shakur with James Prince – that is a totally nonsensical reason why they are not pushing to get Shakur this fight”. Stevenson’s co-manager even highlighted that Lomachenko could not sell out arenas just three fights ago, whereas Stevenson has been a hit whenever he appears on ESPN.

There’s no doubt Stevenson’s reputation has taken a hit among fans in recent days. If people are paying to see a brawl, most would much rather see a knockout than slow and steady technical fights. Do you think Stevenson is right? Do you think he deserves better?