Shakur Stevenson wants Warrington after Joet Gonzalez.
Out of the new crop of up and coming fighters, Shakur “Fearless” Stevenson (12-0, 7 KO’s) stands out as one of the brightest. The young featherweight has enviable in-ring IQ, great in-ring maturity and a dynamic skillset.
Behind the scenes, Stevenson is good friends with Terence “Bud” Crawford and is managed by former champion Andre Ward and J Prince. To boot, he even totes a cover-page worth smile. From a marketability stand point, the future could not be brighter for the New Jersey native.
At the moment, Stevenson has a scheduled date to tangle with Joet Gonzalez (23-0, 14 KO’s) for the vacant WBO world featherweight title. In the boxing, world it’s rather common knowledge that Gonzalez and Stevenson do not like one another.
Apparently, their distaste for one another dates back to the amateurs. Although, in more recent years, the beef has turned intimately personal.
The reason for this shift is because Stevenson is dating Joet’s younger sister, Jajaira Gonzalez. Like most big brothers, Gonzalez is dying to beat the brakes off his sister’s boo!
NO LOVE LOST HERE
Thankfully for Gonzalez, Stevenson and the boxing public, we don’t have to wait much longer to see this radically personal feud play out in the ring. The two professional and personal rivals will collide next month on October 26.
“I don’t know nothing about him, I just don’t like him. I seen him, I disliked him, that’s the story.
“[…] Yeah, I seen him fight, he a good fighter. I think he good […] but this is different. I can’t really tell y’all what makes it different, but I’m telling y’all I do not like him.”
If Fearless is successful in his bout with Gonzalez he already knows who he wants to fight next. Similar to his public feud with Gonzalez, Stevenson has been actively exchanges woof tickets with IBF world featherweight champion Josh “The Leeds Warrior” Warrington (29-0, 6 KO’s).
Stevenson has routinely called out Warrington for a while now. However, the Leeds Warrior demanded that Fearless acquire some hardware before they could fight in the squared-circle.
Some felt he was evading Stevenson, while others felt he was justified in his demand. In his defense, Warrington has faced some rather stiff competition in his last few bouts. Namely, Lee Selby, Carl Frampton and Kid Galahad back-to-back.
UNIFICATION ON THE HORIZON?
Provided Stevenson beats Gonzalez, he will then own the WBO featherweight title. If armed with the new strap, there would no longer be any significant obstacles or rationales preventing this bout.
So if everything goes his way, Stevenson could beat up his girlfriend’s brother live on television, obtain a title then become a unified champion all within the next two fights!
Let’s hope that Stevenson can stay focused and just watch how this soap opera worthy drama plays out in the ring!
“After this fight, me and Warrington. England, he can come over here, wherever he want to do it.
“We could fight in the bathroom, I’d beat him up! […] It’s nothing personal, I just think he is a great fighter. He calling me out, I’m calling him out, so why not fight?
“I’m going to be a champion, he is already a champion, let’s make it happen!”
By: Bakari Simpson
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