In an interview, Promoter Oscar De La Hoya criticized Shakur Stevenson, saying he lacks the self-belief to put on entertaining performances to sell tickets.
Safety-First Fighting Style
De La Hoya believes Shakur’s safety-first fighting style stems from a lack of confidence and something he could change if he believed in himself. Oscar wants Shakur to be fan-friendly, but that’s impossible without breaking him as a fighter.
It’s probably too late for Shakur to change how he fights because he seems afraid of taking shots, and he thinks he can excel at the highest levels at 135 using his ugly hit-and-run fighting style.
It worked for Shakur at 130 and 126, but he didn’t fight great talents in those weight classes. The best guys Shakur fought in those divisions were shopworn fighters, Oscar Valdez and Jamel Herring, who’d had seen better days.
Since moving up to 135, Shakur has fought three times and looked below average in two fights against Edwin De Los Santos and Artem Harutyunyan. He’s now hounding Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis for a fight in what some view as a blatant cry for a payday.
Stevenson could defend his WBC lightweight title next against William Zepeda, a fighter promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, at one of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s events.
Shakur’s Cautious Style is Ingrained
Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) has always fought cautiously since his amateur days, which is why he lost in the Olympics in 2016. The judges didn’t appreciate his ‘hit-and-not-get-hit; style in the Olympic finals match against Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba.
It’s understandable why De La Hoya would be concerned with Shakur’s inability to sell because it would impact a PPV event involving Zepeda if that fight happens next.
“He needs the confidence to fight. He has to believe in himself to put on a good show and sell seats. That’s the problem he’s having. He’s not selling seats,” said promoter Oscar De La Hoya to the Club Shay Shay YouTube channel, talking about Shakur Stevenson’s inability to sell tickets and not being a draw.
“He’s a great fighter. He’s demanding all this money, and fights aren’t being made.”
If De La Hoya is counting on Shakur to change his fighting style in time for a fight against William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs), he must forget it because it’s not happening. Shakur’s fighting style is set in stone, and he doesn’t like getting hit.
Shakur might have been hurt in sparring episodes and has no confidence to risk his chin in exchanges with powerful fighters. We saw Shakur get worked over in a sparring video against Liam Paro, so it makes sense for him to fight scared because he has limited offensive ability.
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