Boxing

Shakur Stevenson Sends Scathing Message To Boxing Community Before Next Fight

Shakur Stevenson is burning bridges with some in the boxing community before his next title fight.
Grant Young|
Shakur Stevenson during a March 7, 2024 press conference.
Shakur Stevenson during a March 7, 2024 press conference. | IMAGO / Torsten Helmke

Few can argue that Shakur Stevenson is among the pound-for-pound most talented boxers in the world.

This has been considered the case even since he won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics while representing Team USA. Since then, Stevenson has gone on to an undefeated 22-0 record as a professional (which includes 10 KOs) and is currently the WBC lightweight champion.

Despite his success, the 27-year-old Stevenson hasn't ascended into superstardom like many had once expected of him. Some potential reasons for this are that smaller boxers don't typically receive the same degree of attention (especially a fighter like Stevenson, who isn't a power puncher) and that Stevenson isn't always eager to promote his fights on the microphone.

This has led to him feeling frustrated with the boxing community because he doesn't feel like he has received the attention and acclaim that he has earned to this point in his career.

And during a recent interview with DAZN, Stevenson sent a blunt message to the boxing community that may not be received well.

"[People] talked bad about me. They act like I'm not this person that I've been my whole life. So f*** them!" Steven is quoted saying, per a February 10 X post from Ring Magazine.

Stevenson's next fight is taking place against Floyd Schofield on June 22in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Given the other massive fights on this card (such as the Beterbiev vs. Bivol rematch and Daniel DuBois vs. Joseph Parker), a great performance from Stevenson could earn him some acclaim from the boxing fans he just dissed.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.