LOS ANGELES – Shakur Stevenson’s free agency tour officially launched Thursday as the unbeaten three-division and WBC lightweight titleholder engaged in an afternoon Zoom call with Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions.
“I believe there’s absolutely an opportunity [to sign Stevenson],” De La Hoya told BoxingScene at the news conference formally announcing Golden Boy’s Aug. 10 Mandalay Bay card headlined by unbeaten junior middleweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. versus WBC interim 154-pound titleholder Serhii Bohachuk.
“It all depends on what I want to offer for [Stevenson]. It all depends on what fighters we have on our roster. It all depends on their vision. I promoted [Floyd] Mayweather for 16 fights. So, there’s a blueprint there. [Stevenson] needs opponents. He needs the right names. He needs William Zepeda.”
Just like Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs), Mexico’s Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) is a Golden Boy fighter who has been avoided by world champions.
Zepeda, the No. 1-ranked lightweight across all four sanctioning bodies, is coming off a third-round liver-shot knockout of Giovanni Cabrera in Ontario, California, a victory posted minutes before the 27-year-old Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) generated the best ratings for an ESPN boxing card this year by cruising to a title-defending unanimous decision victory over Arterm Harutyunyan.
Following the meeting with Stevenson, De La Hoya posted on "X," "Had a great meeting with @ShakurStevenson representatives. @williamzepeda2 will only fight him if Shakur is signed to @GoldenBoyBoxing."
Earlier in the day, De La Hoya said bluntly that his intention for Thursday’s call with Stevenson was “to sign him. … He’s a great talent. I would love to work with him. He’s a great fighter. Shakur needs some good dancing partners. He reminds me of Mayweather.
“I had every single opponent for [Mayweather],” following their own 2007 clash that then stood as the most lucrative pay-per-view fight in history.
“We found them all, and Mayweather became Mayweather. Shakur is in a similar situation. If we have the right opponents, we can build a new Mayweather.”
Mayweather himself may emerge as a chief competitor to De La Hoya and Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn for Stevenson’s services. Richard Schaefer, the new head of Mayweather Promotions, did not immediately return messages left to him by BoxingScene.
Parallels exist in that Stevenson and Mayweather are both technically brilliant, rapid-moving fighters. Mayweather ultimately turned heel, flaunting his earnings and cockiness to become a draw mostly because fight fans wanted to see him lose.
Stevenson appears to be making that turn on social media.
But in light of the criticism he has drawn for back-to-back lackluster bouts, in which fans have departed the arenas in droves because of fight inactivity, he is in need of an all-action heavy puncher like Zepeda to generate a compelling match – especially as fellow lightweight titlists Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko are in negotiations to unify against each other by year’s end.
Lomachenko is due back in the U.S. for a briefing of the Davis talks and to elaborate on whether that is the deal he wants to finalize.
Stevenson’s former promoter, Bob Arum’s Top Rank, is believed to be moving ahead with other plans for his other lightweight champion, new WBO belt holder Denys Berinchyk.
“[Stevenson’s] a tremendous talent, probably one of the best top three guys out there in the world – seriously – and he’s still young,” De La Hoya said. “But I’m not sure what his market value is, and that’s what’s making it a little difficult.
“It doesn’t help when Shakur tells the world, ‘I don’t fight for the people, I fight for me.’ Well, you’ve got to fight for the fans. The fans pay you. The fans buy the tickets, buy the pay-per-views. Regardless, I think Shakur is one of the best fighters out there. If it makes sense for us, then I’m sure we can work something out.”
Neither De La Hoya nor Stevenson returned messages left by BoxingScene following their planned meeting.
Before it, De La Hoya said he would advise Stevenson by saying, “Take a look at your career the last three to four fights and put a realistic value on that.
“Don’t overprice or underprice yourself. Really be honest and ask, ‘What am I really worth? Who do I really want to go with to progress my career the right way?’
“He has a lot of thinking to do. Not just signing with a promoter, but looking at the details. What team can really help you to elevate to superstar status? He’s a fighter who deserves to make a lot of money – more than he’s making now. But it starts with him.”
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