Shakur Stevenson revealed that he plans on being a free agent after his current promotional contract with Top Rank expires on July 6th with the title defense of his WBC lightweight belt against Artem Harutyunyan.
Seeking Flexibility for Big Fights
The former three-division world champion Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) feels that by being a free agent, he can get the biggest fights rather than if he re-signs with another long-term deal.
“I ain’t signing no long term [deal] tbh [to be honest]…so whenever the fight needs to be made, it can be made at any given time,” said Shakur Stevenson on X.
Following in Devin Haney’s Footsteps
By becoming a free agent, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur would follow in the footsteps of Devin Haney, who signs one-fight deals with different promoters to get the biggest fights possible.
This has enabled Haney to get lucrative matches against Vasily Lomachenko, Ryan Garcia, and Regis Prograis. He’s done well for himself.
The fight that Shakur wants most of all at 135 is a unification against WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, who is with PBC [Premier Boxing Champions], However, it would be a gamble on Stevenson’s part if he were to sign a long-term deal with PBC in hopes of getting a fight against Tank Davis.
If Shakur signs with PBC, he might not get the Tank fight, but even if he does, Stevenson could sit on the sidelines, competing once a year, and be inactive with no fights at all.
Top Rank’s Counteroffer
Interestingly, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says he wants to make a fight between Shakur and Lomachenko if Loma wins his match this Saturday against George Kambosos Jr. for the vacant IBF lightweight title in Perth, Australia.
This move could be seen as an attempt by Arum to keep Shakur with his Top Rank company. It’s unclear whether Arum would want Shakur to re-sign for another long-term deal or if he would be satisfied with it being for just one fight.