Promoter Bob Arum wants to match his fighter, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, against two other popular champions at 135, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Vasily Lomachenko, if Shakur defeats Artem Harutyunyan next month on July 6th.
The Contract Renewal Incentive
Arum wants to re-sign Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs) to a new contract with his Top Rank company, and matching him against one of the big names, Lomachenko and Tank, would be the ideal way of enticing him to re-up for another hitch.
Shakur’s contract with Arum’s company expires with his fight against the recently beaten Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs) on July 6th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The chances of Arum setting up fights for Shakur against Lomachenko or Tank Davis are slim now. Stevenson has developed a reputation for being a safety-first hit-and-not-get-hit fighter who avoids engagement at all costs. Tank and Lomachenko don’t want to chase Shakur around the ring, and they don’t desire to have their fights booed by fans due to the fearful manner that Stevenson uses.
Shakur’s last fight against Edwin De Los Santos was booed loudly by the fans at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas last November because he was running from the slugger the entire contest.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time that Shakur fought in a risk-aversive manner, as he’s done it his whole career, pecking his way to world titles in three weight classes but failing to entertain and only winning fans for those who enjoy watching the fencing, safety-first style that he employs.
The Competition for Stevenson’s Signature
Arum has competition for Shakur’s services; however, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has been vocal about wanting to sign the 2016 Olympic silver medalist despite not having anyone popular in his stable at 135 or 140 for him to fight.
Hearns only has Andy Cruz at lightweight, and he’s not a big name. He would be a very risky fight for Stevenson because Cruz has the same highly defensive, counter-punching style but with more power. Cruz is arguably a better version of Shakur without Stevenson’s loud mouth and bragging ability.
“I want to see a real top performance from Shakur,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to Sky Sports about his hopes for WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson if he successfully defeats Artem Harutyunyan on July 6th. “It’s an exciting fight.”
It might be better for Arum to let Shakur move on to some other promoter who can try to figure out how to turn him into an attraction. Arum would be up against it right now, attempting to find any big names to motivate Shakur to re-sign him with a new contract.
The legendary promoter Arum doesn’t seem interested in sacrificing Teofimo Lopez or Keyshawn Davis for Shakur to outbox and wreck their careers. Those two have more potential to draw fans than Shakur, so it makes sense that Arum isn’t putting their feet to the fire to use as opponents for the New Jersey native.
Arum Wants Shakur to Change Style
“I know if he goes in and pecks away, he can beat anybody, but that doesn’t entertain people, and professional boxing is part entertainment, so I want him to engage in an entertaining fight,” said Arum about wanting Shakur to fight in a more entertaining, engaging style in his fights instead of his usual hit-and-not-get-hit manner of competing.
Arum doesn’t realize that there’s no way he can change Shakur’s style of fighting because it’s too well ingrained at this point, and if he did become more stationary, it would break him. He would be like Roy Jones Jr. when his mobility deteriorated late in his career, forcing him to battle fighters while stationary.
Jones was repeatedly knocked out once his mobility and speed disappeared. The same would be true of Shakur. He’s too fragile to fight engagingly without getting chewed up by the stronger, tougher fighters at 135 and 140.
“Lomachenko now has one of the lightweight titles, and he and [Gervonta] Davis would be a massive, massive fight [for Shakur]. Those fighters seem ready and willing to fight each other,” said Arum.
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