Promoter Eddie Hearn made it clear when asked about a future mega fight between Shakur Stevenson and Andy Cruz that he is not interested in making it now. He promotes both fighters, but says WBC lightweight champion Shakur (23-0, 11 COs) is ‘the man’ at 135. Hearn mentions that ‘when Andy comes through’, he’s not sure if Stevenson will still be ‘the man’. The remarks indicate that Hearn is not interested in putting it together for a long time, if ever.
(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)
Save Shakur for “tank”
Hearn signed Shakur for the purpose of suiting him for a big mega money fight against Gervonta Davis. Tank’s loss of Lamont Roach delayed the plans.
Hearn would throw Shakur to the wolves if he matched him against Andy Cruz, because he could do everything he could, but with much better offensive skills. Stevenson is only a defensive fighter. His violation-to-defensive ratio is 10-90, which means he focused only 10% on offense to win fights, and 90% on defense in the form of relocation to evade.
“The plan for Andy is to conquer the world title and unite and win every belt in box,” promoter Eddie Hearn at the Press conference after battle When asked about the possibility that Andy Cruz will soon face Shakur Stevenson in a mega fight.
Cruz showed that he was the best fighter at lightweight last night, and in his previous match against Omar Salcido. It is the man who should focus Hearn, rather than going on Shakur anywhere with his outdated approach in the 1990s.
Zepeda threatens Shakur’s government
There is an excellent chance that Shakur will be deprived by William Zepeda next month in their battle on July 12 in Queens, New York. Turki Alalshikh has already instructed his no more runners on his Riyadh season cards, with his comment that he does not want ‘Tom and Jerry Fights’.
Shakur is the king of those kinds of battles, and by far the best runner -up in the lightweight section. This is not a compliment. If he chooses to fight as Turki wants his fighters in his events by staying in the bag and showing heart by exchanging Zepeda, he will probably lose.
As such, there will be no point in Cruz fighting Shakur. He would be yesterday’s news. It would also be the second battle of Hearn’s contract with two struggles with Shakur. He can only let him go without signing him to a new agreement again, because what would be the point?
Exposed the “runner”
‘At the moment, There is no doubt, Shakur is the man at 135But Andy also wants to be the man, ‘says Hearn.’ If he beat Muratalla, you have Abdullah Mason with Sam Noakes (for the vacant WBO lightweight title), and you (WBC 135-LB champion Shakur Stevenson. Shakur is looking for all the fights. “
Hearn does not have to be a brilliance of Shakur. He is not ‘the man at 135’. Stevenson is a classic runner -up in the 1990s and borrows the style Mayweather has adopted as he aged. Andy Cruz is light years before Shakur in terms of talent. There are at least five fighters at 135 that are better than Shakur. He doesn’t know this now, because Stevenson has been carefully linked to soft opposition since moving to 2023, such as Josh Padley and Artem Harutyunyan.
“He wants to know what’s next, and I think Shakur would love to fight champions at 135 pounds,” says Hearn. ‘Shakur knows box, and he also knows how good Andy Cruz is. And I think he will be the challenge. 50-50 Fight? At the moment Shakur is the man at 135. Will he be the man When Andy comes through? Let’s find out. That’s what we want. The best versus the best. “
What does Hearn talk about ‘when Andy comes through’? Cruz is two years older than Shakur at 29, and has better amateur evidence with his Olympic gold medal against Shakur’s silver. Cruz’s amateur record is 140-9. Stevenson’s is 140-13. Cruz is now ready to fight all the top fighters against lightweight. He does not have to be babies for five to seven years, such as fighters with short amateur careers and no Olympic experience. He has been ready to fight like Shakur since he became pro in 2023.
“These are two generation talents. It’s two pound-by-pound big fighters,” says Hearn.
Last updated on 06/15/2025
