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Tim Bradley believes the drop-off in Shakur Stevenson’s performances in recent fights resulted from undisclosed injuries since his move up to lightweight in 2023.
Boxing commentator Bradley feels that Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) has been “quiet” about fighting hurt since moving up to 135, so he looked so poor against Edwin De Los Santos and Artem Harutyunyan. Shakur appeared afraid to get hit in these fights and didn’t trust his chin.
A Career-Long Issue?
Bradley doesn’t say whether his theory on Shakur being injured has been a career-long thing because he’s been equally boring since 2019 in fights against these guys:
– Jeremiah Nakathilia
– Christofer Diaz
– Oscar Valdez
– Joet Gonzalez
– Robson Conceicao
If Shakur’s play-it-safe fighting approach is due to injuries since 2019, he might have to consider retirement or dropping to 126 pounds.
“In recent fights, we haven’t seen the best of Shakur. That could be with injuries, and Shakur is the type of fighter who is quiet about his injuries. He don’t like to talk too much about them. He keeps it a secret. So maybe he’s dealing with something. That’s why we haven’t seen his best,” said commentator Tim Bradley to the Title Sports Network YouTube channel about why Shakur Stevenson has looked so poor recently.
Carrying Water for Shakur?
It sounds like Bradley is carrying water for Shakur, making excuses for him to cover up the reality that he’s not an entertaining fighter and never has been from day one. If Shakur was injured, why did he fight the same way as an amateur? He’s always fought the same way.
He lost to Robeisy Ramirez in the 2016 Olympics because he played tag and ran around the ring. The judges wouldn’t give Shakur a victory with that awful style, so he lost. Afterward, he cried dry tears, feeling robbed. Shakur didn’t want to face the truth.
“As far as dealing with the critics, let them talk,” said Bradley about the criticism Shakur is receiving. “Just keep winning, champ. Keep proving people wrong. If you get the [William] Zepeda fight, go out and do your thing. Win by all costs. That’s it. As far as entertainment value, these fans pay to see you fight. There’s a balance you’ve got to have as a fighter.”
William Zepeda Challenge
The chances of Shakur defeating #1 contender William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) are quite low. He won’t prove anyone wrong fighting Zepeda next February, as that’s a likely knockout loss for Shakur. If he doesn’t get knocked out, he’s going to run the entire 12 rounds, and he’ll receive massive criticism.
Unlike the Shakur-De Los Santos clash, the fight with Zepeda will be seen by many fans, and the backlash Stevenson will receive for running from him will be neverending.
Shakur has got to be concerned with the critics because his goal is to be a PPV star and get the big fights. Top fighters aren’t going to want to face Shakur if he’s not popular and won’t engage, and there’s the risk of being robbed like De Los Santos was last November.
“There’s a balance between playing it safe and winning or just performing, taking a little bit more risk for the entertainment value,” said Bradley. “You got to balance and being a little bit safe at the same time. It’s a balance you got to find. What we saw that with Shakur was [Jamel] Herring [in October 2021 at super featherweight]. When we saw that was Shakur was Oscar Valdez [in 2022 at 130]. When we saw that with Shakur was when he fought against [Robson] Conceicao [in September 2022 at 130].”
Shakur didn’t look good against Valdez and Conceicao. Indeed, he was boring in both fights, retreating whenever attacked. Shakur looked decent against the 35-year-old Herring because he was old, slow, and weak.
“He was there, he was in the pocket, he was getting hit, and he was trading with guys. That was when we saw him [Shakur] at his absolute best,” said Bradley, failing to mention that things have changed for Stevenson since moving up to 135, where fighters have more power and he’s uncomfortable.
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