Frank Martin Credits Shakur Stevenson for Facing De Los Santos
There is no question that the past week has been a tough one for WBC lightweight champion “Fearless” Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KO’s). Despite winning his last duel, versus Edwin De Los Santos, Stevenson has been relentlessly lambasted for the dismal and ferociously boring match that he conducted. Instead of De Los Santos though, he was initially very close to facing Frank “The Ghost” Martin (18-0, 12 KO’s).
The match between Martin and Stevenson fell apart when Fearless accused Martin of requesting too much money. Yet, with his name being tarred and feathered by boxers, insiders, hardcore fans and casuals alike across the nation, perhaps now would be a great time to revisit this negotiation. To make this possibility a bit more realistic, when talking to ThaBoxingVoice, Martin was one of the few who did not rake Stevenson over the coals.
“Honestly, styles make fights and that was one of Shakur’s first fights actually fighting an explosive, elusive fighter who can match his speed too. It wasn’t like somebody could just counter him because De Los Santos had that speed and that pop that keeps you on your shit. That was really his first time being in a fight like that in his whole career for real.”
LET’S DO IT AGAIN!
When initially trying to put it together, Martin versus Stevenson was and remains a solid match-up. Both are skillful, each have a good buzz about them and neither have set the division on fire just yet. And now that Fearless is undergoing this current thunderstorm of ridicule, he might be far more lenient at the negotiating table. At the same time, now that he’s plucked up the vacant WBC title, Stevenson could be more difficult.
Provided that he is more open-minded and flexible, if negotiations were relaunched, Fearless could do a lot worse than The Ghost. Even though he now has the aforementioned title, Stevenson is being viewed by many hardcore fans and virtually all casuals as if he is a leper. Therefore, it’s rather unlikely that he will get a big-time fight versus a name like Gervonta Davis or Ryan Garcia next.
This is why a very recognizable and respectable name like Frank Martin, ranked #2 (WBC) and #3 (WBA), could be just what the doctor ordered. In the event that Fearless won, in impressive fashion, he’d most likely begin putting this unsavory debacle behind him. If he lost or put on another snoozefest, then he would suffer another colossal hit to his marketability. So, let’s wait and see what Stevenson and his Top Rank handlers have up their sleeve for his next outing.
