Promoter Eddie Hearn says he intends to try to sign Shakur Stevenson to his Matchroom stable and thinks he can “make him a star” with his assistance in marketing.
Shakur is expected to attend this Saturday’s fight at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia between David Avanesyan and Jaron “Boots” Ennis, who was recently signed by Matchroom, according to Hearn. The plan is for Shakur, the WBC lightweight champion, to become well-known to the general public and for Hearn to entice him to join Matchroom.
“Shakur Stevenson is one of the most talked about fighters in the world. I know I can make him a star; that’s easy for me. I’ve got the dates, I’ve got the platform, I’ve got the megaphone. Let’s do it,” said Eddie Hearn in media reports.
Hearn’s ability to make Shakur a PPV star is debatable, and if he succeeds, it will be because Shakur is a real person and not just someone who is well-liked despite public disapproval.
Shakur isn’t a must-watch TV show, therefore no matter how hard Hearn promotes him, he will never be a crossover star that American fans want to see. The desire of American spectators is to see fighters of entertainment value, such as Ryan Garcia, Canelo Alvarez, Gervonta Davis, and Isaac Cruz.
They set the benchmark for what American audiences want to watch when it comes to entertainment. Shakur falls into a separate category; his efforts on social media and his outspoken nature make fans want to watch him more. It speaks volumes that he works almost as hard on Twitter as Ryan Garcia. As Hearn correctly notes, one of the competitors who is now generating the greatest buzz in the boxing arena is Shakur (22-0, 14 KOs). After his dull twelve-round unanimous decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan last weekend, none of Shakur’s detractors can deny that he’s the buzz of the town more than anybody else.
“The deal has got to be right, and there’s got to be a buy-in from him that we’ve still got a job to do, but it doesn’t take long. You see, with Boots. If Boots shines this weekend, we’re there,” said Hearn
