Oscar De La Hoya is one of the promoters interested in signing free agent Shakur Stevenson to his Golden Boy stable.
De La Hoya states that he must determine Shakur’s marketability and match him against the right opponents.
Although Golden Boy has the #1 ranked William Zepeda on their roster, no one else would make sense to use as an opponent for Shakur that would attract fan interest.
Moreover, if De La Hoya signs Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) to a four or five-fight deal and he loses to Zepeda in his first fight, his marketability will plummet. That would be a disaster for De La Hoya and Shakur if he lost to Zepeda.
Oscar would be stuck with Shakur until the end of his contract before he could walk away from his mistake.
De La Hoya promoted Floyd Mayweather Jr. for 15 to 16 fights during his career, and he’s well aware of the need to have the correct opponents for a fighter to help them.
Identifying the Right Opponents
“I believe there is a possibility. It depends on what I want to offer him, and it depends on what fighters I have on my roster. It depends on their vision,” said promoter Oscar De La Hoya to the media when asked if he believes he can sign free agent Shakur Stevenson to his Golden Boy Promotions stable.
De La Hoya wants to match Shakur against Zepeda, but that’s not a good idea unless he signs him for just one fight. That way, if Shakur loses to Zepeda, Golden Boy still comes out ahead. Zepeda’s popularity would grow, and it wouldn’t matter that Shakur’s career would be over.
To ensure that Shakur keeps winning, he must be matched against fighters like his last opponent, Artem Harutyunyan. He can beat fighters like him, not big punchers or pressure fighters.
Shakur’s problem is that he doesn’t possess the power to be a true top player at 135. He’s not the same fighter in this weight class as at 126 and 130. His last two fights against Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos have shown that.
If Shakur is matched against Zepeda, he loses. The same is true if he’s put in with Gervonta Davis, Floyd Schofield, and Abdullah Mason. Even Frank Martin would seriously threaten Shakur due to his power and pressure.
Blueprint for Success: The Mayweather Model
“I promoted Mayweather for 15 or 16 fights. So there’s kind of like a blueprint there. He needs opponents. He needs the right names. He needs William Zepeda,” De La Hoya continued about Shakur Stevenson. “He’s a tremendous talent. I think he’s one of the best top three guys out there in the world, and he’s still young.”
Mayweather was a different story than Shakur. De La Hoya matched Mayweather against good opposition without worrying about him losing.
He can’t do that with Shakur because he’ll lose. De Los Santos almost beat him. The one judge that scored it correctly had Shakur winning by a narrow 115-113 margin, and that’s how close the fight was.
De Los Santos is nowhere near the level of many of the more talented lightweight fighters, and those guys would beat Shakur or send him running.
Determining Stevenson’s Market Value
“I’m not sure what his market value is, and that’s what’s making it a little difficult. It makes it difficult for Top Rank and Bob [Arum] to determine what the value is. It doesn’t help when Shakur tells the world, ‘Well, I don’t fight for the people. I fight for me,’” said De La Hoya.
“You’ve got to fight for the fans. The fans pay you. The fans are the ones who buy the tickets and buy the pay-per-views.”
Shakur will bring good ratings in a fight against Zepeda, and a match between him and Tank Davis will do well. However, he likely loses both fights and would need to be rebuilt with soft opposition for four or five fights. If Shakur needs to be propped up after a loss, that’s not good for his marketability or DAZN.
Conditional Signing
“Regardless, I think Shakur is one of the best fighters out there. If it makes sense for us, then I’m sure we can work something out,” said De La Hoya about potentially signing Shakur Stevenson to his Golden Boy stable.
The best strategy would be for De La Hoya to sign Shakur for one fight in a conditional signing and throw him in a sink-or-swim situation against William Zepeda. If he loses that fight, wash your hands off him.
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