It has been an interesting two weeks in boxing as one of the best young fighters in the sport is having difficulty finding an opponent. It was reported last week that Shakur Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) and Frank Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) had ‘agreed to’ a fight that would take place either in November or December. The rumors were leaning more towards November during the Formula 1 races in Las Vegas, which were later fueled by comments from Bob Arum saying the fight would take place that week.
A few days ago, ESPN reported that the fight was now off, and the term “duck” was being utilized a ton on social media due to Martin being the one to have pulled out of the fight. Some X public messages were exchanged by Stevenson and Martin where they were pointing the finger at each other.
Shakur Stevenson and Frank Martin exchanging words over the collapse of their fight… pic.twitter.com/pgdCVQ5nBI
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) September 13, 2023
This morning, ProBoxTV spoke to Showtime Sports Executive Stephen Espinoza. When asked about the situation between Martin and Shakur, he didn’t completely rule out that the fight could not be revived to take place later this year. “I think some of the reporting was a little premature. There was a basic agreement reached between the two sides, and that allowed the purse bid to be off. As my colleagues have heard me often say, ‘It’s not done until it’s done.’ A lot of things can take a fight off the path of agreement in principle terms to an actual signed contract. I think that is what happened here. There is still a possibility that the fight gets put back together. If that can’t be resurrected, then there’s a lot of talent at 135. Nothing is in place for Frank (Martin) yet. Once we get the word that it’s run its course and can’t happen, then we will start looking at adding him into the schedule soon.”
A couple of hours after this conversation, Mike Coppinger from ESPN reported that Stevenson once again has a fight ‘agreed upon, ‘but this time, it’s with Edwin De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KOs). The question that immediately comes up is: Is this fight actually going to happen? We just recently witnessed an ‘agreed upon’ fight fall apart, so who’s to say that doesn’t happen here with De Los Santos? It’s a good fight, and the fans hope it gets done, but given the recent history, let’s talk about the fight once Top Rank sends out the official press release.
Shakur Stevenson and Edwin De Los Santos have agreed to a deal for a Nov. 16 fight in Las Vegas for the vacant WBC lightweight title, sources told ESPN.
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) September 13, 2023
The bout will headline a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Thursday three days before Formula 1 debuts in Vegas.
