Shakur Stevenson, WBC lightweight champion, says he wants a unification fight against IBF champ Vasily Lomachenko next. He says he thinks Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) is scared of fighting him, and he will use nicknames for him by calling him “duck-chenko.”
Lomachenko is in negotiations with Gervonta Davis now, and that’s a big fight. There’s no money in Loma fighting Shakur, who is coming off a career-worst performance against Edwin De Los Santos on November 16th last year.
Shakur’s Taunts a Desperate Plea for Recognition?
Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs) is tired of being avoided by top fighters, so he taunts them to shame them into facing him.
It’s questionable whether it will work for Shakur, 27, because he’s not popular, and there’s no money in a fight against him to lure Lomachenko, Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, or Teofimo Lopez.
“Lomachenko looked good [against George Kambosos], but I still think he’s scared to fight me. Stop being scared, Lomachenko. I’m going to call you duck-Chenko or scary-Chenko until you fight me, champ,” said Shakur Stevenson to the media about wanting to fight IBF lightweight champion Vasily Lomachenko in a unification. “I don’t want a nickname. I want a nickname after I whoop his a**.”
At this point in 36-year-old Lomachenko’s career, he’s focusing on getting the best-paying fights against entertaining fighters. Fighting Shakur wouldn’t make sense for Lomachenko now, and it could be a bad one if the crowd booed the lack of action.
Lomachenko would try to make it entertaining, but he’ll not be able to chase Shakur down if he moves as much as he did against De Los Santos and several of the toughest fights of his career. Shakur moves a lot against fighters with power and talent.
“We got to get somebody to sign on the dotted line. If I can pick, it’s Lomachenko, or if they [Gervonta Davis and Loma] go fight each other, I say [William] Zepeda. Why does Zepeda keep saying my name and clout-chasing but then won’t fight me? I don’t think he should get a pass for that either,” said Shakur
Moving Up in Weight or Settling for Lesser Opponents
The only way that Shakur can get the top fighters to sign is if his promoter overpays them by huge amounts. That would need to be Shakur’s next promoter, who would be willing to lose money on his fights. It might not be possible.
Promoters don’t like losing money, so Shakur may need to settle for continuing to face no-name opposition.
One quick fix would be for Shakur to move up two weight classes to 147, where he’ll have fighters like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Brian Norman Jr. who would be interested in fighting him. Those guys hit so hard that he’ll be broken apart even if Shakur is as defensive as he was against De Los Santos.
Shakur’s Focus on “Hit and Don’t Get Hit” Worrisome
“That would be putting pressure on myself,” said Shakur when asked if he feels he has to perform well on Saturday night against Artem Harutyunyan to be offered a good contract with another promoter.
“I’m keeping pressure off myself. My main focus is going in there, having fun, having a good time, putting on the type of show that I want to put on, and showing the art of boxing. That’s what my main focus is. Hit and don’t get hit. That’s what I want to do come Saturday night,” said Shakur.
The above comment by Stevenson shows that attitude hasn’t changed about focusing on his “hit-and-don’t-get-hit’ style, and that’s bad news for the promoter that signs him. It appears Shakur is resistant to change and will stubbornly stick with his current fighting style until the end of his career.
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