Benn scoffed at the idea of a rehydration clause and told Stevenson to stop tweeting and actually fight at 147 or 154. This turned the whole thing into a public dispute over whether one of the men really wanted the fight or was just using the other’s name.
Stevenson’s new post gives the story a sharper edge because he’s no longer just talking about weight. He now says his team made direct contact and that Benn’s team did not want to move it along.
Shakur credits the fact that his team actually initiated contact. In his mind, “we issued” equals “we want the fight.” By calling Benn “scared”, he tries to embarrass him in the ring, hoping that public pressure will outweigh Benn’s refusal to move on the scale.
Benn does not deny that calls were made. His stance has been consistent: If Shakur wants to be a five-division champion, he needs to do it at 147 without a weight handicap. For Benn, asking for a rehydration clause is the same as not wanting the fight at all.
Conor, 29, has just come off a massive payday, said to be around $15 million, for his fight against Regis Prograis under the Zuffa Boxing banner. He is currently the #1 contender to the WBC welterweight title and has been heavily linked to a massive August fight with Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas.
From Benn’s perspective, why take a massive pay cut to satisfy Shakur’s weight stipulations when he can make eight figures fighting Ryan Garcia or chasing a WBC belt?
Benn holds the big man card. He knows Shakur is the one who wants to move up, so he makes Shakur pay the size tax.
Shakur is smart. He knows he’s planting a seed of doubt in the fans’ minds by claiming that Benn’s team “hid out”. This shifts the conversation from “Shakur is too small/demanding” to “Benn is afraid of the skill gap.”
In reality, it is a business deadlock. Shakur won’t fight without protection against a guy rehydrating like a middleweight, and Benn won’t give up his primary physical advantage for a fighter he already finds “boring” to watch.
