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Shakur Stevenson and his new promoter, Eddie Hearn, will hold a press conference next week in Los Angeles to discuss Shakur’s next fight with Matchroom against Joe Cordina on October 12th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The date will be announced soon.
A Confidence Booster and a Stepping Stone
Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) and former IBF super featherweight champion Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) will share the card with the headliner act between unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and WBA champ Dmitry Bivol at the Kingdom Arena in His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season event.
Hearn hasn’t said whether he plans to re-sign Shakur to a long-term deal after his one-fight with Cordina fight is done. He says he wants to turn him into a global star, but it’s unclear who he can match him with outside non-Matchroom fighters.
The appealing fights for Shakur would involve fighters like William Zepeda, Gervonta Davis, and Vasily Lomachenko. Those guys aren’t with Hearn, but they would be willing to fight Shakur if the money was right.
The plan is to put Shakur in this confidence booster against Cordina to help boost his stock with fans and then match him against William Zepeda. Then if Shakur wins those two, try and put together a deal with Gervonta Davis.
Stevenson’s Ego and Pride
Shakur will likely need to sign with PBC for him to get the Tank fight, and even then, it will depend on the negotiations. Stevenson’s ego and pride could result in him overpricing himself and losing out on the Tank fight.
The problem is that Shakur feels he’s on the same level as Tank Davis because of his three-division world titles and his WBC strap. Those things don’t mean anything. Shakur still can’t sell and isn’t anywhere near Tank’s level.
“With Matchroom and Riyadh Season, I am teaming up with a promotional force that matches my world-class talent,” said Shakur. “We will be unstoppable in and out of the ring, and I will continue to show my dominance for many years to come in the sport of boxing.”
Hearn’s Ham-Handed Promotional Strategies
Hearn is excited about Shakur’s new signing, as he was with Demetrius Andrade when he signed him to Matchroom in 2019. He’s failed to learn from the past and is steering Shakur’s career in the same direction.
When Hearn signed Andrade, he was excited about the potential, but instead of taking advantage of it, he matched him against three British fighters, and his popularity failed to take off.
Hearn seemed surprised when Andrade failed to gain traction with fans. Now, Hearn is making the same mistake with Shakur by matching him against a British fighter, which won’t increase his popularity with U.S. fans. It will hurt Shakur’s popularity because he’ll probably look bad.
Sharp rounds in the bank today 🔪
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) August 22, 2024
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