Should Shakur Stay With Matchroom Boxing?

Shakur Stevenson’s two-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing will expire after his next, raising questions over his next steps. 

Shakur signed the two-fight deal after the expiry of his Top Rank contract. The aim was to expand his global profile, with a view to targeting the biggest fights. Shakur was set to face Joe Cordina for his first fight under Matchroom, but that broke down after Stevenson’s hand injury. He faced off against Joe Padley in a fight that failed to excite the fans despite Shakur’s ninth-round stoppage win.

Stevenson now faces one of the toughest fights of his career on paper when he takes on William Zepeda. The latter is a knockout artist whose record stands at 33-0, with 27 knockouts to his name. Zepeda has stopped three out of his last five opponents, as he vowed to do the same against Shakur. The winner will aim to get a unification against the WBA Lightweight Champion Gervonta Davis. 

Shakur has been chasing the Davis fight for some time. However, PBC is known for making fights in-house, meaning Matchroom may find it tough to make that fight. PBC and Top Rank have also indicated their desire to work closer together, meaning Shakur may have to leave Matchroom to secure that fight. 

Shakur’s Future

However, Shakur has also indicated he is open to facing other big names, which Matchroom could help. There are persistent links with the likes of Devin Haney and Conor Benn. While that may be the case, they are 147 fights, meaning there would have to be a catchweight involved. Regardless, Eddie Hearn was focused on keeping Shakur. 

“Pretty simply, we had a two-fight deal with Shakur Stevenson. That never changed; the communication between us never suggested anything different. After the Zepeda fight, the contract’s up; the deal’s up, and I’d like to think we extend. I’ve got a great relationship with Shakur, even though he [recently] beat me at table tennis in New York. I want to promote him for the rest of his career. But a lot of the time it really depends on the deal you have for the fighter.

“Loyalty’s really nice, and respected in the sport, but as I learned with [Saul] ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – and rightfully so; we did seven or eight fights with Canelo – all of a sudden, we didn’t have anything for him anymore; as much as he likes us, he’s off, and that’ll be the same with Shakur. Now we’re talking about potentially extending that relationship, but it will all be built on what he can offer. But if he goes elsewhere after Zepeda good luck to him – I’ll still be a massive fan and admirer,” Hearn said