“Please Head up Man”: Following Fierce Exchange, Ryan Garcia Motivates Shakur Stevenson to Come out of Retirement

Ryan Garcia has sent a heartfelt message to the three-division champion, and the recently-retired boxer Shakur Stevenson. Interestingly, not long ago, Garcia talked about defeating him inside the squared circle. Following his victory over Oscar Duarte, Ryan Garcia took the opportunity in the post-fight press conference to address a longstanding feud with Shakur Stevenson. Garcia didn’t mince words, accusing Stevenson of being a persistent adversary dating back to their amateur days.

He boldly declared, “He’s just been a hater since the amateurs, for real. And I want to fight him, I’ll beat his a**, I promise you that. I’ve been in the ring with him. He’s cool, but he’s scared all the time. Scared, scared, scared. In a pro fight, it’s not gonna work.”  Even though Garcia found Stevenson “annoying”, he had a word of advice for the young boxer.

Ryan Garcia’s ‘sincere’ advice to Shakur Stevenson

Shakur Stevenson shocked the boxing world with a sudden announcement on social media, declaring his retirement from professional boxing. The catalyst for this decision was a ruling by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) that left Stevenson visibly angered. The sanctioning body declared that Emanuel Navarrete and Denys Berinchyk will vie for the vacant lightweight title, signaling Shakur Stevenson’s exclusion from the competition. The 26-year-old, who clinched a silver medal in the Rio Olympics, took to social media to share his frustration and make the surprising revelation about the end of his career.

Garcia heard about this and he instantly tried to motivate the young talent to come out of retirement. He made a post on X and wrote, “I’m trying to be as sincere even though shakur is pretty annoying – don’t retire, don’t let these things get to you. If it’s a publicity stunt well play your move. But if it’s not, a performance shouldnt stop your journey. You can come back look good and everything will be good. Please head up man!”

So, even though Garcia and Stevenson aren’t really that good friends, he tried to keep their rivalry aside and tried to advise ‘Sugar’ as an elder brother. However, he slammed Stevenson for putting up a bad fight against Edwin De Los Santos in the past.

Garcia called Stevenson a “boring” fighter

Garcia’s critique of Stevenson’s performance wasn’t too far off from the broader sentiments within the boxing community. It wasn’t just Garcia who felt underwhelmed by Stevenson’s showing on Nov. 16; statistical data from CompuBox revealed that he landed only 65 total punches and threw fewer blows overall (209) than his opponent. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger described the bout as having one of the worst TV main events in recent memory, while Dan Rafael, a seasoned boxing writer, labeled it as “one of the worst fights” he has ever witnessed.

Read More: “You Animal You Belong in the Zoo”: Ryan Garcia Slams ESPN for Allowing Tim Bradley’s “Biased” Attack on Him

Moreover, in an interview with FightHype, talking about Stevenson, Garcia said, “Shakur, he’s been getting on my nerves since the amateurs. He’s so arrogant, and I don’t say that about nobody.” In addition Garcia added that the WBC titlist is “boring as s**t“, and while watching his last fight he had the “best night of sleep I’ve ever had.”

Now, Garcia doesn’t want Stevenson to hang up his gloves. Moreover, they seem to have unfinished business. What are your thoughts about Shakur’s retirement? Tell us in the comments section below.

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