Shakur Stevenson Admits Retirement Was All Emotion
Let him tell it, WBC lightweight champion “Fearless” Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KO’s) is returning this summer at some unknown time. Yet, this is a notable improvement from the retirement that he was supposedly just on. After becoming frustrated by not being able to sign the fights he wanted, Fearless quit, took his ball home and ‘retired’. No one believed it for a second. Now, he has confirmed it was the hissy fit that everyone already knew that it was.
A BIRD IN THE HAND…
While it’s great that he’s ‘back,’ now what? Who exactly is Stevenson going to fight? The New Jersey native was quick to snub a contract to face WBC junior welterweight Devin Haney. Said contract was for 25% of the fight profits as well as a shot at all four of the 135-pound belts since Haney was the undisputed champion at the time. Insulted, Stevenson rejected it. Now, Haney is on the way to a huge fight with Ryan Garcia and April 20.
Fearless could have fought Frank Martin as well. However, once he was the A-side, Stevenson was unwilling to give Martin any of the additional money that he wanted to make the fight. As a result, both men walked away. While still unofficial however, currently it appears that Martin is heading to a major fight with WBA lightweight champion Abdul “Tank” Wahid. Stevenson continues to buff the pine.
PULL THE TRIGGER THIS TIME
It will be interesting and revealing to see who Stevenson returns to the ring against. One fighter that springs right to mind is lightweight combatant Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis (10-0, 7 KO’s). Ranked #3 (WBC), #5 (IBF) and #8 (WBO), The Businessman has been looking for all the big names he can find. Given his temperament, it’s highly unlikely that Davis would turn down a duel for a world title.
The one fight that technically makes the most sense is a rematch with Edwin De Los Santos. In his last duel, versus De Los Santos, Stevenson turned in his most abysmal professional performance to date. In fact, many people label it the most boring match they’ve ever seen. And the dreadful to watch prizefight killed the majority of buzz that Fearless had going for himself.
Since that fight, Stevenson has told everyone that will listen that he was hurt and not performing up to par. If this is the case, it would make perfect sense for Fearless to face De Los Santos again and beat him as effortlessly as he says he can. This would certainly restore a great deal of luster to his name. Stevenson has displayed zero desire to follow that course of action. So, in the meantime, we’ll just have to wait and see what is next for Shakur Stevenson this summer.
