By Frank Bay: Shakur Twitterson is boring, in and out of the ring. Let me start by saying that the relationship between professional sports and fans is reciprocal. Sometimes, athletes and owners/promoters forget this aspect. I don’t mind paying for events.
If it’s the NFL season pass or a major boxing PPV, I will open my wallet, even against my better judgment. Yes, I’m easily suckered, but I’m nobody’s fool. I will watch Canelo Alvarez fight on Cinco De Mayo, but I’m not paying for it. No, I will not steal it. I will most likely watch it with friends and family since it’s a traditional party boxing weekend.
When it comes to sports, I have my limits to what I will be bilked for. When I get the NFL season pass or go to a baseball game, I’m getting what I pay for. Price doesn’t matter, yet I refuse to pay regularly for a poor product. When the teams are poor, the owners do not lower the prices to reflect fan investment.
No, instead, they raise the price for parking. This is why NFL and MLB teams, at least for optics, stress winning. When a team wins, the fans are willing to take out a second mortgage for season tickets. Fans are suckers and count me in that group. But when it comes to boxing and using Shakur Stevenson as an example, it becomes painfully clear that the powers that be only see a one-way relationship.
Boxing expects you to pay without giving you what you want. They give you the opposite (i.e., Josh Padley vs. Stevenson) and expect you to want to pay even more for the next event. This creates a trickledown effect. Fighters expect the same.
Turkish Alalshikh AKA John
Turki Alalshikh is learning the hard way about boxing. On my podcast last year, I predicted that Turki would see that throwing cash around as if he were in a strip club would not be enough to control the boxing game.
The nuances and quirks deep inside boxing cannot be controlled or eradicated by a man with money who wants to rule with an iron fist. Boxers are more akin to actors than athletes because, like Actors, boxers can pick and choose their roles, i.e., their fates. Contrary to belief, boxers do not choose fights solely based on money.
In the social media age, post-Money Mayweather era, fighters are much more fueled by perceptions. Just look at what happened to the former Mayweather-failed clone Devin Haney. Look at the only fighter so far not to kiss His Excellency’s ring, the formerly impervious Tank Davis after one miscue. As they say, perception is reality.
Shakur, who dubbed himself Twitterson, is facing a crossroads, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Shakur Stevenson sit for the foreseeable future. Before Stevenson left Top Rank, it was reported that he was upset that Top Rank refused to feed him Lomachenko or Navarrete. Top Rank stood on business.
Upon leaving, Stevenson conveniently left out that Top Rank would’ve gladly served him up Loma and or Navarrete, had he re-signed with them. Common sense would’ve told Twitterson that Top Rank needed to be able to replace a star like Loma with Shakur since it is highly likely he would’ve beaten the aged veteran.
I’m not sure how deluded or delusional Stevenson is to think Top Rank would sign themselves up to give him Loma and Lomachenko’s belt, only to see him leave them like they were 7 months pregnant.
Top Rank And Good Riddance
Fast-forward, and Shakur signed with Hearn, who works closely with Turki. Hearn signed Shakur with agreements in place. Hearn had Turki meet Shakur, and they shook hands. Shakur was told what was expected of him. Shakur claimed he wanted big fights.
He was now in a position with people who could make it happen, or so we thought. Regarding being careful what you wish for, Shakur Stevenson was given his battle orders and has now gone AWOL. When fighters discuss how the business of making a fight goes, the promoter offers the fighters a list of possible opponents.
Then, the fighter and his team are made to select from the given options. Each fight entails a risk vs. reward option. The fighter must choose or be forced to sit. If a fighter refuses a fight that is within contractual obligations, then the promoter can make the fighter sit.
The contract works both ways. A promoter must meet the obligation of, for instance, giving their fighter 3 fights within a certain time frame. When there is a problem, the fighter has roughly two options. Options we have seen fighters of note Mikey Garcia and Andre Ward use come to mind.
One is fighting to get out legally, which can cost more money than it’s worth, or sitting and waiting until the contract expires. Teofimo recently attempted to get out of his contract with Harvard grad and former lawyer Bob Arum.
The contention was that Teo didn’t owe Top Rank a last fight. Top Rank countered, claiming Teo decided to decline a fight date, and therefore, they were within their right to have him sit. Eventually, they resolved their issues, which is one way it works. Had Turki not come and saved Teofimo, he would still be sitting on the sidelines.
Will Stevenson suffer the same fate? I’m willing to bet he wouldn’t mind taking a sabbatical, especially if the WBC allows him to pull a Jermall Charlo and let him be champion for years without a fight. Remember, Shakur Stevenson has already thrown a hissy fit and retired amidst his dissatisfaction with Top Rank.
Turki never imagined the leopard would eat his face. Not one year in and Tyson Fury retires from him without fighting Anthony Joshua, Jaron Ennis turns down a significant fight, and now Stevenson tells him thanks, no thanks. Worse than that, after being paid handsomely to sign with Hearn and being paid far more money than he deserved to fight a part-time electrician Padley on short notice on an undercard no less, he turns around and bites the hand that feeds him and his promoter. A very short-sighted action if you ask me.
Fool Me Once, Shame On You
I consider myself a betting man, and I’m willing to bet that the scenario played out something like this: Turki told Shakur that he would pay him fairly. Shakur then needed to begin twisting the narrative by leaving out important context. He claims Turki went back on his word.
Shakur accused Turki of promising him a certain amount of money for the William Zepeda fight. Yet when it was offered to him, it was much less than what was first promised, and he accordingly shot it down. That sounds reasonable and most likely happens all the time in boxing. I mean, it is called negotiation for a reason.
But let me tell you something, in a word to the wise: When it comes to negotiations, and especially boxing negotiations, once they’ve gone viral, i.e., someone is negotiating in public, on Twitter no less, then it’s over. It’s not going to happen.
All Shakur is attempting to do with negotiating on social media is to be first so he can twist and turn the social narrative to spin it in his favor. His only hope is to gain enough mindless fan support to heal his fragile ego. The little social support he is currently getting from his sycophants is enough to feed his narcissism. The rest of us see this for what it is: a massive duck
I’m assuming Turki Ali said to Shakur, ‘Look, Shakur, I know the money I’m offering for Zepeda is less than originally intended, but that is because I kindly rewarded you for the inconvenience of fighting a late replacement and massively overpaying you for Padley.
The numbers will show I’m being more than generous in the new offer. ’ As you can see, Turki looked at the numbers and saw what anyone could see about Twitterson, that he is not worth it. His attitude and reaction towards Turki’s generosity only further prove it.
Turki, like myself, is a fool, but he is nobody’s dupe. From Turki’s point of view, he is fulfilling his promises and obligations with Shakur. He way overpaid him for Padley against better judgment but did it to make him happy, do him a favor, and keep him active.
Now, Turki, thinking he will get the same reasonable reciprocal decision, is left like he was a side piece that Shakur can toss away. Shakur seems intent on burning another bridge as if there are hundreds more in boxing.
What Turki is offering is pretty much the same amount of money for the two fights. He realizes he overpaid for the Padley fight, so he wants to lessen the blow on the back end. Is it less than fair? I argue not, in actuality, when as fans, we realize Turki did him a favor, paying him way more than he is worth in the first place.
Fans Left Holding The Bag
The fans have been wanting a Zepeda vs Shakur fight for over a year now. As I talked earlier about boxing giving us what we want, we just witnessed it go up in smoke. Zepeda, at one time, was accused of being the duck, but I think it’s safe to assume he will no longer get the blame.
In a bit of comedy, I do see his sycophants attempt a narrative mental gymnastics twist and are finding a way to accuse Zepeda and De La Hoya of being the actual ducks. One narrative spin is that it’s prize fighting and it’s about ‘the bag’. Therefore, Shakur is not a duck and is a smart businessman.
But where I see the mind-blowing hypocrisy is that these are also the same fans that bash Canelo Alvares and any other fighter who does the same. Alvarez is the top public enemy for choosing wisely and taking $100 million for William Scull.
Yet you will hear tons of praise for Shakur doing the same thing without the same accolades or massive fan base to fall back on. When Floyd Mayweather had reached his getting ‘the bag’ phase, he already had the accolades and built-in fan base.
This was a short-sighted, self-sabotage move, in my opinion. Canelo can swerve anyone he wants because there is someone willing to pay him to do it. Shakur doesn’t have another Turki-like figure in his back pocket who will rescue him and pay him to fight another scrub.
Shakur has cornered himself because I can’t see anyone willing to pay him big money anymore. He will not be paid for soft touches again, and he won’t get the big names and money he demands because everyone sees he has no options.
Shakur and his team suckered Turki and duped Hearn, who must be between a rock and a hard place, scratching his head about what to do next with him. But whereas Turki can wash his hands with the ingrate, Hearn is stuck with this albatross.
In the end, it’s the fans who are left holding the bag. We allowed Shakur to get this far without holding him accountable. Many fans sided with his narrative that everyone was ducking him.
People accepted the Padley fight because Scholfield pulling out wasn’t his fault, and we were getting Zepeda next. But it looks like this is the last straw before even his steadfast fans no longer pay for his fights.
Last Updated on 04/12/2025
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