WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson has a lot of pressure on him to look impressive tonight by beating Josh Padley in the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. It is not someone who can afford Shakur (22-0, 10 COs) to struggle if he doesn’t want to be mocked by fans More than he is already. If Shakur runs off this man tonight, it’s over. His career will never be the same.
Stevenson told Padley on Friday that he was going to whip his ‘A **’ in their fight on Saturday. Now, if he runs off Padley as he has done against a dozen of his opponents in the past, it will show the supporters what he is all about.
What if he fails?
Realistic, Stevenson needs a knockout Van Padley (15-0, 4 costs) to get out of this fight without his stock falling. This is one of those fights where you can’t find anything, because Padley is not a top level of the top level. He is just a fighter at the British level who chose his promoter, Eddie Hearn. Shakur needs a knockout within six rounds to get out of this fight.
This battle is more critical for Shakur, because Hearn wants to set up the ‘biggest battle in box’ next against Gervonta Davis. He will look at the fight ugly if Stevenson struggles tonight and his way to a dull 12-round decision.
Hearn needs Shakur to look like 24k gold against Josh to go to Turki Alalshikh and ask his help to lure Tank Davis to fight him. Without Turki, Hearn has no hope of putting the fight together. He is not going to empty the war box in the firearm to come up with the dough to attract Gervonta to face Shakur in a fight that is unlikely to cover the cost.
Shakur is not a PPV draw, and Tank only had one fight during his 12-year career against Ryan Garcia. The fans who bought the event were probably Ryan’s 12 million Instagram followers. Shakur is not popular on social media like Ryan.
That is why it is extremely important for Shakur to look good tonight. He is a lesser fighter he would expect to destroy if he is worthy to share the ring with tank. Of course, Shakur is not what Hearn says he is. He is not pound-by-pound #1 or one of the best fighters in the sport. He is just a defensive man, and 90% of his game is defense and only 10% is offended.
For Hearn to sign Shakur on just a contract with two struggles, says a lot. I would do the same. I would sign Shakur on a short contract, fit him against a fluffy position to make him look good, and then press hard for the tank fight. This is where I would make a profit. After Shakur lost that fight, I would sign him again because he would have been exposed, and to rebuild him would cost too much money.
Last updated on 02/22/2025
