“Look at the State of Haney”: Shakur Stevenson Trying His Fortunes at Matchroom Draws Scathing Criticism, With Some Fans Wishing All the ‘Luck’

Hate him or love him, Shakur Stevenson is here to stay. He may not be a star of ‘Tank’ Davis’ stature. But he is the next big name to command the lightweight limelight. Within or without the ring, Stevenson remains the focal point of many debates across the boxing world. His online presence ably adds spice to the divisional recipe. A free agent now, the fight with Artem Harutyunyan was reportedly the last he fought under the Top Rank banner.

Although his last weekend’s performance might have come under scrutiny. However, that doesn’t diminish Shakur Stevenson’s charisma. At least Eddie Hearn seems to believe so. An intriguing conversation saw him share an interesting update on the lightweight champion. The rumors of Stevenson inching towards either Mayweather promotions or Matchroom Boxing are all around the place. The hazy picture tends to become clear to many. But it now seems that not many fans are too happy if such a move were to take place.

A Vision for Shakur Stevenson: Transforming Talent into Stardom

Eddie Hearn was speaking on ‘Seconds Out’. He revealed having a word with Shakur Stevenson, and it seems that the light champion would be marking his attendance in Philadelphia. Jaron’ Boots’ Ennis would be fighting his first title defense the day after tomorrow.

Speaking about Stevenson, the Matchroom honcho suggested what he and his team would put on the table for the Newark-born southpaw. “Shakur Stevenson is one of the most talked-about fighters on the planet. Let’s be honest, you know whether you’re criticizing his performance, whether you’re praising his performance, whether you’re talking about promotional deal expiring, whether you’re talking about potential fights, when you’re talking about if he’s overrated underrated, everybody’s talking about Shakur Stevenson,” said Hearn.

Since his victory over Harutyunyan, fans have seen Shakur Stevenson on a Twitter spree. They often found him defending himself against scathing criticism over the way he fought the Armenian-German challenger. According to Eddie Hearn, he could be that ‘voice’ the young boxer badly needs now so that he can focus on fighting.

(Un)Locking the potential

But many fans would rather beg to differ. Many accept Hearn’s abilities to rope in fights. But there were still a few, given the recent developments over Devin Haney’s potential fight against Sandor Martin, who felt that Shakur Stevenson’s fate might follow suit. Let’s check what a few of them had to say.

In fact, take, for instance, this fan. They sound suspicious that it might take up to 4 to 5 fights in the Matchroom banner until Shakur Stevenson hears from a big name.

Stevenson might be feted around the world. However, this fan feels the majority of the conversation would be hovering around his ability to pull off an exciting fight!

The next fan perhaps wishes the best for Shakur Stevenson. But with hindsight, would rather have everyone take notice of the Devin Haney–Sandor Martin episode. Of course, with a pinch of salt.

Suspecting Eddie Hearn’s track record of managing his fighters to stardom, this fan would rather watch and see how it turns for Shakur Stevenson. After all, they reasoned that not all boxers who are good in the business even become superstars.

This fan, too, echoes similar sentiments. However, they seem to consider Eddie Hearn a notch better than what Top Rank might have put on the table for Shakur Stevenson.

Lots of warning shots for Shakur Stevenson. But Eddie Hearn remains persistent that he has what it takes to make the lightweight champion a ‘star’. Fans can watch out for how things develop after the Jaron Ennis fight.

Incidentally, ‘Boots’ also joined the Matchroom stable this year, and the fight in Philadelphia is his first under the English promoter. So those doubtful about Shakur Stevenson’s future in Matchroom Boxing might as well closely observe how the coming period pans out for the light welterweight champion.

What’s your take on Eddie Hearn’s assurance? Do you think that under Matchroom Shakur Stevenson will become the star that he eventually wants to be?