Is Shakur Stephenson’s talent a curse? Malignaggi lands the battle of William Zepeda and proposes the pay cuts needed to overcome the light weight evasion

Paulie Malignaggi says Shakur Stevenson may need to cut his salary by providing a portion of his wallet to fight against him to seduce WBC’s interim lightweight champion William Zepeda. He feels Shakur (23-0, 11 Kos) is avoided by the top guys at 135.

Pay reduction proposals

To fight him against a fighter like Zepeda (33-0, 27 Kos), he has to abandon a portion of his wallet. Mariganidge believes that Shakur’s victory over Zepeda will “force” a bigger fight against Jevonta Davis.

It probably works the opposite. Stevenson’s impressive victory over Zepeda will forever close the door for a fight with Tank Davis, especially if Shakur runs all night against a Mexican slugger.

He must move around the ring throughout the entire battle, as he will start biting if he stands up against Zepeda. Tevin Farmer absorbed many punishments in the first six rounds of his recent battle with Zepeda. The only reason he couldn’t stop is that he has a great jaw.

Shakur promoter Eddie Hahn has the money to invest in him if he is willing to use some of the company’s fabric to get Zepeda. For popular fighters like Zepeda, it will be expensive. All Hearn needs to do is provide Zepeda. $5 millionhe agrees and then hopes that Shakur will play his role without being released from the venue. Hearn is a stingy, tight fist, and Stephenson will be in the shadows as long as he stays in the matchroom.

He can forget the tank if he gets booed by fans, just as he was against Edwin de los Santos and Jeremiah Nakatilia.

Saudi Arabia’s money has disappeared

The money Shakur thought was there from Saudi Arabia is no longer there after his final battle with Josh Padry in Riyadh on February 22nd. Some fans believe that Saudi Arabia gave up on Stevenson after that terrible performance against part-time boxer Padry, who struggled in a very boring battle.

“It’s a bit disappointing how Shakur was done in this business. I feel he’s a great fighter,” Paulie Marignaga said. fighthypeShakur Stevenson talks about how he couldn’t get the fight he wanted. “He’s probably the lightest in the world.”

Shakur is not hitting beats on Lightweight to receive the credit that Malignaggi is slathing him. Stevenson’s battle with Edwin de los Santos should have been a draw or victory for de los Santos. The judges gave it to Shakur, but many fans believe it is because of his popularity. He wasn’t supposed to lose.

Apart from that victory, Shakur’s victory came against low-level fighter Josh Padry (electrician), and the inactive Yoshino Yoshino of Artem Harutyunyan, who was away from defeat.

I’m a black boxing sheep

– Shakur Stevenson (@shakurstevenson) April 14, 2025

Evasion factors

“Maybe there are situations where he may need to get those big fights and cut his salary a little to try and establish himself in his performance,” Marignagji said. “That’s awful, I know. Only in boxing can you do as good as you can avoid. Other sports don’t.”

That match is unlikely to happen unless William Zepeda controls most of his wallet so it’s worth fighting him. Golden Boy and Zepeda will obviously know from seeing Shakur’s fight with Delos Santos and seeing that it is impossible to win a decision against him.

Zepeda does not have a winning shot if the judges are giving Shakur rounds for landing light punches, holds and running. For Zepeda to have a chance, the battle must be staged in Mexico’s neutral territory.

“When you’re that good, they had to go through to make you the best, or they can’t be the best. In boxing, if you’re not in the right situation, you sometimes get away with you and everyone plays the ball without you,” Marignagji said.

The problem is that Shakur doesn’t show that he wants to fight him for the top-grade fighter of 135. What he shows is that he is a runner, a bored runner and is regularly booed when he faces opposition with all sorts of pops and punches. He is unpopular and is much light years away from realising PPV status.

Essentially, he is known for his social media activities at Eddie Hearn, the current promoter of X. Shakur. He has failed to turn him into a star and has yet to invest the fabric to get the battle he needs by fighting William Zepeda and Gervunta Davis.

Stevenson’s Plight

“I think Shakur is a premium lightweight in the world of lightweight divisions with good fighters, so that’s crazy for me,” Marignagji said. “I don’t know what the answer is. Maybe I’ll cut my pay a little to try to fight Zepeda and try to control Zepeda.

“I don’t know anymore. It’s a very stupid business. It has crazy amounts. It works in strange ways. People play their favorites. Anything with lots of money, but it’s very frustrating,” Malignaggi said.

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