2016 U.S Olympian Shakur Stevenson has few prospects for lucrative, legacy-building fights at 135 despite capturing the vacant WBC lightweight title last November.
The best option for the 26-year-old Shakur to make money and to become a star is to move up to 140 to try and force a fight with WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney, especially now with him feeling he’s invincible after beating champ Regis Prograis last Saturday night.
Haney’s self-confidence is sky-high to the point where he wouldn’t attempt to squirm out of a fight with Shakur like he did previously when he made him what many felt was an intentionally lowball offer that he knew wouldn’t be accepted.
If Shakur moves up to 140, he can use fan pressure to force the fight with the 25-year-old Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), who has copied his fighting style to the tee, and then dethrone him of his WBC belt.
Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs) still hopes that his promoters at Top Rank will line him up with a fight against fellow stablemate Vasily Lomachenko or Gervonta Davis, but that seems like a useless, empty pipe dream with virtually no chance of happening.
The Newark, New Jersey native Shakur can wait forever, and Loma & Tank will likely NEVER fight him. What ultimately happens is Shakur’s reflexes & foot speed will slowly deteriorate as he reaches his late 20s & early 30s, and he’ll wind up a stationary target for the young wolves at 135. It’ll be a feeding frenzy like we saw with Roy Jones Jr. when he lost his speed.
Possibilities at 140
Devin Haney
Richardson Hitchins
Gary Antuanne Russell
Jose Ramirez
Arnold Barboza
Ryan Garcia
The reality is that Shakur has few hopes for massive fights at 135, and it would seem useless to stay in the weight class, thinking a mega-fight will fall into his lap.
WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta Davis will NEVER fight Shakur, using the excuse of being on the other side of the fence, managed by PBC, and fighting on Amazon Prime Video PPV.
If Shakur stays at 135, the only actual options are:
William Zepeda
Raymond Muratalla
Jamaine Ortiz
Frank Martin
Edwin De Los Santos – rematch
Keyshawn Davis
Those are good fighters, but none possess the popularity that Shakur needs to transition to PPV star on ESPN. For Shakur to become a star attraction, he needs a victory over Haney, Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia & Subriel Matias.
Those guys all fight at 140, and they’re all realistic fights that could happen for Shakur. Ryan has already called out Shakur and appears serious about his interest in fighting him.
