Shakur Stevenson and Vasily Lomachenko had to be separated by security last night at the Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov event at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
The altercation appeared to have started after WBC lightweight champion Shakur saw Lomachenko in the crowd at the fight and started pressing him for a fight. Stevenson, 27, has been calling out Lomachenko for the past year but with no luck.
Shakur Stevenson: “Me and you, let’s fight. Why don’t you want to fight me?
Vasily Lomachenko: “We can go right now. Let’s do it outside. Let’s go right now.”
The fundamental problem Shakur has is this:
- He’s boring and unwatchable
- Useless for PPV purposes
- Fans don’t want to see him
- Only popular on social media but not at the gate or for PPV
Lomachenko has better options against Gervonta ‘Tank’s Davis than fighting an unpopular fighter like Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs), who fans have loudly booed in his last two performances against Artem Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos.
In both fights, Shakur fought defensively, showing little power and fleeing when attacked. His fighting style is 100% non-fan-friendly and not one conducive to an entertaining fight.
Shakur’s Amateur Style
Fans view Shakur as a ‘Runner,’ he’s not the type of fighter that the 36-year-old Lomachenko is interested in fighting at this late stage of his career. During his long amateur career in Ukraine, Lomachenko has fought plenty of runners before, but in the pro ranks, he has higher standards.
Shakur hasn’t adapted his amateur style to the pro game, and that’s the main issue. He’s still fighting with the point-scoring mentality, looking to land weak shots to win in an amateur style.
As an amateur, Shakur wasn’t top of the tree, as he ran too much, which cost him in the Olympics when he was outfought by Cuban talent Robeisy Ramirez in 2016. Afterward, Shakur cried, feeling he’d been robbed but unable to face the reality of his loss. Robeisy was better than him and more willing to actually fight.
Fans don’t want to watch amateur fighters in the pro ranks; they want knockouts and blood. Stevenson doesn’t provide what fans want from their fighters, so he’s not able to sell, and the top guys have no interest in fighting him. He’s one of the untouchables.
𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐊𝐔𝐑 & 𝐋𝐎𝐌𝐀 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 ⚠️@ShakurStevenson 😤 @VasylLomachenko #RiyadhSeasonCard | @DAZNBoxing | #CrawfordMadrimov pic.twitter.com/0SA9pPuHzg
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) August 4, 2024
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