Shakur Stevenson wants IBF lightweight champion Vasily Lomachenko to retire if he is not going to fight him or Gervonta Davis. Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) says he is “lost respect” for the 36-year-old former three-division world champion Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) for talking to him outside the ring “without revenge” but then not wanting to fight him.
Stevenson has been after Lomachenko for years to fight him, but he has shown no interest. Shakur’s reluctance to engage, his focus on punching and no-throwing style, and not being a commercial draw could be factors in why Lomachenko has shown no desire to fight him.
Lomachenko fought fighters similar to Shakur during his amateur days in Ukraine, but he may not be willing to chase him around the ring in a fight booed by fans.
Shakur wants Lomachenko to retire
WBC lightweight champion Shakur feels he and Tank Davis are the two best fighters at 135, and he says if Loma doesn’t want to fight either, he should hang up his gloves. Interestingly, Shakur doesn’t tell Tank Davis to retire because he’s not interested in fighting him. Why is that?
Could it be that Shakur wants to ensure he gets that big payday against Tank because he also has to tell him to retire? The money Shakur would get against Tank would be far more than he earned during his professional career.
So it makes sense that Shakur doesn’t step on his toes because he needs that money. Given his physical issues, lack of power and safety-first fighting style in this weight class, he probably won’t last as a championship-level fighter.
Many fans believe Shakur does not belong at 135 as he is a fish out of the water and cannot thrive on dry land against the power punchers at lightweight. We saw this clearly in Shakur’s fight against Edwin De Los Santos last November, when he ran around the ring for 12 rounds trying not to get hit.
Stevenson labels Loma “soft”
“No, I’m quite over it. I think he is soft. When I saw at that last fight when he pushed up and talked to me was pretty ruthless, but he doesn’t want to get in a boxing ring and kick out. I think he’s soft,” Shakur Stevenson said Boxing NewsThrowing Vasily Lomachenko into the ground for not agreeing to fight him.
Shakur can’t be “about it” if he demands that Lomachenko retire. Shakur is bitter about not fighting him and wants him out of the sport for not getting his way.
It will be interesting to see how Shakur reacts when he is 36, like Loma, and there is a younger fighter demanding to fight him. Will he be willing to accommodate that fighter or turn his nose up and ignore the guy? It’s easy for Shakur to speak out now at 27, but when he’s 36, will he be willing to take on the young killers?
Given Shakur’s fragile hands, lack of power and his defensive style of fighting that relies on reflexes, it is unlikely that he will still be in the sport at Lomachenko’s age. There isn’t enough balance in Shakur’s game to have a long career. He is all defense and no offense. It’s like a 90-10 defense imbalance on offense with Shakur. Those types don’t last.
No respect for Lomachenko
“I respect him for what he’s done in the sport of boxing, but lately I’ve kind of lost respect for him just because our exchanges were more like he was rowdy outside the ring. He doesn’t want to get in the ring and finish it,” Shakur said.
“I don’t even see the point of him boxing if he’s not going to fight me or he’s not going to fight Tank. What’s the point of you boxing? what are you doing You can go and get money fast. Go do it if this is your case. Other than that, don’t mention yourself in conversations with us because you don’t even want to fight with us,” Shakur said.
If Shakur loses to William Zepeda on February 22, his career is going to be in bad shape, and it won’t matter anymore that Lomachenko doesn’t fight him. Shakur will have to have his promoter, Eddie Hearn, come to his rescue to save his career with his special matchmaking ability.
Hearn will do it for struggling fighters for a while, but he won’t do it indefinitely for guys who can’t swim with the sharks. Shakur is a classic example of a guy who isn’t going to stay afloat for long at lightweight. Hearn will try to rebuild Shakur if he loses to Zepeda, but he’s not going to protect him for the rest of his career if he can’t beat the top fighters.
Act out he’s not trying to be in any big fights so why be in the sport https://t.co/ivi16VMmao
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) November 11, 2024
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