Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn hopes to reel the giant catfish Shakur Stevenson into his net with him attending the Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. David Avanesyan event this Saturday night, July 13th, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
The Bait: A Promising Platform & Ambitious Promises
Whatever deal Hearn is planning to offer Shakur, it’s got to top the $15 million that Top Rank offered him to re-up for another hitch.
“Shakur Stevenson is one of the most talked about fighters in the world,” said Hearn to Secondsout’s YouTube channel. “I know I can make him a star; that’s easy for me. I’ve got the dates, I’ve got the platform, I’ve got the megaphone – let’s do it.”
Assuming Shakur wants double that amount, that’s a lot of money for Hearn to invest in a fighter who may never become a PPV attraction and could lose once he’s matched tough for the first time at lightweight against his #1 contender William Zepeda.
If Shakur gets beaten right off the bat in a new contract with Matchroom, hopefully, Hearn will have an emergency escape clause that allows him to cut him loose to avoid being stuck with him for another four to six fights.
Transforming a Dull Fighter into a Superstar
Hearn is eager to sign WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and quickly build him into a mega-star. He feels that his promotional work can accomplish this quickly. Fans are skeptical of any promoter transforming a dull fighter like Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) into a genuine bonafide star.
There are many boring fighters like Shakur in the sport, and they don’t become stars. Hearn has a similar fighter to him, Richardson Hitchins, who has failed to gain any popularity with the same risk-averse style and self-promoting.
The fans’ tastes have changed since the Mayweather era, and they now want to see action fighters like Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia. Shakur’s fighting style is outdated. Shakur Stevenson is more of a Mayweather and Devin Haney type of fighter; he plays it safe and does the minimum to win.
Shakur’s contract with Top Rank expired last weekend, and he rejected their $15 million offer to re-ink with them for five more fights. Stevenson wants to sign with a promotional company that can land him the granddaddy of fights, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. That’s the one that he prizes more than any, and he thinks he can win.
It’s questionable whether Shakur can win, given his lack of power and history of choosing not to engage when fighting punchers. The Tank fight will still make a lot of money due to the hype going into it, even if it fails to deliver, leaving fans feeling ripped off like they did when Floyd Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao.
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