Shakur Stevenson dismisses one fighter and declares they ‘will not be getting in the ring with me’

Shakur Stevenson has polarised opinions since turning professional. Many have criticised his fighting style, but in recent times, Shakur has changed many views with dominating wins against William Zepeda and, more recently, Teofimo Lopez. His progression has seen him spoken of among the active pound-for-pound greats. Stevenson was in the news again recently, signing with Zuffa Boxing. Speaking to Dan Rafael after the Zuffa deal was confirmed, Shakur dismissed a potential opponent who called him out recently.

Shakur Stevenson reflects on joining Zuffa Boxing

Talking to Dan Rafael, Shakur (25-0, 11 KOs) reflected on joining Zuffa Boxing and said: “For sure the money played a part. I enjoy being able to feed my family and just generational wealth. At the end of the day, it’s a lot of things that played a part when it came to signing with Zuffa. A fresh start. A lot of people haven’t made the move to sign with Zuffa yet, but with me being the next leader of the new school and trending, with what I am doing, I believe there will be a lot of people to follow my path also.”

To hear the whole interview with Dan and Shakur, please press the play button below.

Stevenson dismisses one potential opponent

When asked about being called out by Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (16-3, 10 KOs), following his recent KO win over Edwin De los Santos, and whether there was a possibility he could fight “Rayo”, Shakur Stevenson said: “Not at all. I won’t be fighting Rayo at all. With all due respect to Rayo, I’m not taking nothing away from his win against Edwin, but Edwin’s been out of the ring since my fight; he’s fought one round. 

“With that being the case, he’s been out of the ring 3-4 years. It was a good win, but it wasn’t enough for me to say I wanna fight Rayo. I’ve seen him (Valenzuela) fight Gary Antuanne Russell. Gary Antuanne kind of beat him up, so I would rather fight a Gary Russell before I fight a Rayo. I’m looking for the most challenging fights for me. 

“I wanna see myself in the ring with guys that could be a potential threat to me. Someone who could potentially take my 0 from me. That’s what I like. I love the competition aspect. People don’t understand how I really feel about this. I’m not scared to drop my nuts and get in the ring and show who I am. I’ve been ready to do this my entire career. 

“Rayo is not even on the cards for me. I’m not thinking about Rayo, with all due respect. Rayo can do what he’s got to do. I hope Zuffa puts out a great plan for Rayo, but Rayo will not be getting in the ring with me. Unless he goes and beats a major name in impressive fashion and gets his name in the mix to where I will actually want to fight him. But right now, I’m not thinking about him.”

Stevenson’s move to Zuffa is a statement of intent from all involved. Will Stevenson keep his WBO 140-pound title, or will he move up to 147, as Zuffa don’t recognise the 140 division at this point?

Will Shakur fight on Paramount +? Or is this a Riyadh Season arrangement with Turki Alalshikh owning 60% of Zuffa?

Featured Image Credit:

Cris Esqueda- Golden Boy Promotions