Promoter Eddie Hearn made it clear when asked about a future mega-fight between Shakur Stevenson and Andy Cruz that he’s not interested in making it now. He promotes both fighters, but says WBC lightweight champion Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) is “The guy” at 135. Hearn states that “when Andy comes through,” he’s not sure if Stevenson will still be “the guy.” The comments suggest that Hearn is not interested in putting them together for a long time, if ever.
(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)
Saving Shakur For “Tank”
Hearn signed Shakur with the intent of matching him up for a huge mega-money fight against Gervonta Davis. Tank’s loss to Lamont Roach has delayed those plans.
Hearn would be throwing Shakur to the wolves if he matched him against Andy Cruz, because he can do everything that he can, but with far superior offensive skills. Stevenson is a defensive fighter only. His offense-to-defensive ratio is 10-90, meaning he focused only 10% on offense to win fights, and 90% on defense in the form of moving to evade punches.
“The plan for Andy is to win the world title and unify and win every belt in boxing,” said promoter Eddie Hearn at the post-fight press conference when asked about the possibility of Andy Cruz facing Shakur Stevenson in a mega-fight soon.
Cruz showed that he’s the best fighter at lightweight last night, and in his previous bout against Omar Salcido. That’s the guy Hearn needs to focus on, rather than banking on Shakur going anywhere with his outdated, 1990s-style approach.
Zepeda Threatens Shakur’s Reign
There’s an excellent chance that Shakur will be dethroned by William Zepeda next month in their fight on July 12th in Queens, New York. Turki Alalshikh has already given his directive of no more runners on his Riyadh Season cards with his comment about not wanting “Tom and Jerry fights.”
Shakur is the King of those types of fights, and the best runner in the lightweight division by far. That’s not a compliment. If he chooses to fight the way Turki wants his fighters in his events by staying in the pocket, showing heart by exchanging with Zepeda, he’ll likely lose.
As such, there won’t be any point in Cruz fighting Shakur. He would be yesterday’s news. Also, that would be the second fight of Hearn’s two-fight contract with Shakur. He can just let him go without trying to re-sign him to a new deal, because what would be the point?
The “Runner” Exposed
“Right now, there’s no question, Shakur is the guy at 135, but Andy wants to be the guy as well,” said Hearn. “When he beats Muratalla, you’ve got Abdullah Mason facing Sam Noakes [for the vacant WBO lightweight title], and you’ve got [WBC 135-lb champion Shakur Stevenson. Shakur is looking for all those fights.”
Hearn doesn’t need to be glazing Shakur. He’s NOT “the guy at 135,” not even close. Stevenson is a classic 1990s runner, borrowing the style that Mayweather adopted as he aged. Andy Cruz is light years ahead of Shakur in terms of talent. There are at least five fighters at 135 that are superior to Shakur. He doesn’t know that now because Stevenson has been carefully matched against soft opposition since he moved up to 2023, like Josh Padley and Artem Harutyunyan.
“He wants to know what’s next, and I think Shakur would love to be able to fight champions at 135 pounds,” said Hearn. “Shakur knows boxing, and he also knows how good Andy Cruz is. And I think he’d be up for the challenge. 50-50 fight? Right now, Shakur is the guy at 135. Will he be the guy when Andy comes through? Let’s find out. That’s what we want. The best vs. the best.”
What is Hearn talking about with this “when Andy comes through” bit? Cruz is two years older than Shakur at 29, and has better amateur credentials with his Olympic gold medal vs. Shakur’s Silver. Cruz’s amateur record is 140-9. Stevenson’s is 140-13. Cruz is ready right now to fight all the top fighters at lightweight. He doesn’t need to be babied for five to seven years, the way fighters with short amateur careers and no Olympic experience. He’s been ready to fight the likes of Shakur since he turned pro in 2023.
“They’re two generational talents. They are. Two pound-for-pound great fighters,” said Hearn.
Last Updated on 06/15/2025
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