Shakur Stevenson Embraces Villain Role In His Fighting Career

Tim Bradley questions Shakur's approach amidst controversial persona and style criticism

Shakur Stevenson is deliberately playing the villain to stay relevant / SHAKUR STEVENSON ON INSTAGRAM.

By Moses Ochieng

Boxing analyst Tim Bradley thinks Shakur Stevenson is deliberately playing the villain to generate artificial interest in his career by clashing with the media and fans on social media.

WBC lightweight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) compensates for the lack of entertainment in his fights, which focus mainly on defence and a safety-first, Mayweather-esque style, with an excessively arrogant demeaner.

Fans watch Shakur's fights not for entertainment but in hopes of seeing him lose and be humbled. However, due to the weak opponents he's faced, he remains undefeated.

That said, Shakur arguably should have lost to Edwin De Los Santos last year, but the judges saved him. He was exposed in that fight, but his status as the A-side allowed him to avoid much of the criticism he would have faced if he were an ordinary fighter.

“We’re talking about no one wants to see him, yet the kid has the highest ratings on ESPN [in 2024 for a boxing event] out of any fighter. We say nobody wants to see him, but everybody has their eyes on him [for a fight on a regular non-PPV event on ESPN],” said Tim Bradley in media reports about Shakur.

What Bradley isn't addressing is whether those same fans would have watched Shakur's fight against Artem Harutyunyan if it had been on ESPN PPV. I believe the answer is a resounding NO. Fans likely wouldn't have paid for Shakur's fight on PPV, but it's a different scenario when it's broadcast for free on ESPN. If Shakur's villain persona is successful, he'll end up fighting on PPV rather than free TV.

“They’re fascinated with him, and they want to see what everybody is talking about. Even in his next fight, people will watch him just to criticize,” added Bradley.

Playing the villain can only take a fighter so far; their efforts will fall short if they can't defeat top-tier opponents. Shakur won't be able to beat Gervonta 'Tank' Davis with his current style, and he would likely fare just as poorly against Abdullah Mason and William Zepeda.

Bradley points out that Shakur's defence appeared effective, as he wasn't taking punches while standing in front of Harutyunyan. However, this assessment is incorrect, as Shakur was indeed getting hit by Harutyunyan, particularly with several clean right hands.

If Gervonta had been the one landing those punches, Shakur wouldn't have lasted the fight without being knocked out. Harutyunyan focused solely on targeting Shakur's head throughout the bout, which actually worked in Shakur's favour as it allowed him to stand in front of Harutyunyan and lean back to evade his punches.

A fighter such as William Zepeda would pose a significant challenge to Shakur if Shakur fought him in a static manner, similar to how he faced Harutyunyan, because Zepeda aggressively targets the body and has stopped his last two opponents early.

“I think this new way of Shakur lashing out and going at the media from celebrities on; he’s trying to create a villain role now, and he’s trying to use it not only for fuel but to get more eyeballs watching him, create more hate and putting himself in a situation where many people will believe he’ll lose and he ends up winning,” Bradley continued.