When the Last Crescendo fight went down in February, it kicked off what’s shaping up to be an incredible year for boxing in 2025. The Riyadh Season delivered eight other high-stakes bouts, headlined by the highly anticipated Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch. It was a stacked card, full of elite matchups, last-minute fighter replacements, and plenty of drama—exactly what fans crave. But while the fights delivered, something else didn’t (or at least on the level everyone expected)—the PPV numbers. So, what went wrong?
Some boxing fans argue that fights outside the U.S. don’t get the same attention, especially when American fighters are involved. Time zones play a huge role—let’s be real. Not everyone is willing to mess up their work schedule for a fight happening halfway across the world. Naturally, that affects PPV sales. But here’s the twist—fans aren’t just talking about low PPV numbers. Some of them are even blaming Shakur Stevenson for the dip. Yep, you read that right.
Earlier today, 2ToneDaSupastar shared a post on X. “Shakur Stevenson first PPV Hits 340,000 Buys….. Bro definitely has SILENCED the critics,” the caption read. Naturally, Shakur Stevenson saw the post and reshared it, adding, “Beat the odds do numbers and remain humble!” Sounds like a solid flex, right? Well, not everyone saw it that way. The usual critics were not having it, and here’s why—those numbers weren’t exactly his.
Beat the odds do numbers and remain humble! https://t.co/jluLi7hGDp
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) April 2, 2025
See, the WBC Lightweight Champion fought on the undercard, not the main event. If this had been his headliner, he could rightfully claim the numbers as his own. But that wasn’t the case. Stevenson wasn’t even the co-main event of the evening. So, therefore, the moment he acknowledged the success, boxing fans came in swinging, making sure he knew exactly where he stood.
To make things worse, the PPV numbers for the undercard in the U.S. were… well, bad. According to Brunch Boxing, the entire Riyadh Season undercard event only pulled 45,000 buys in the States. That’s shockingly low for a card this stacked. For comparison? Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin last year did over 300,000 buys, without nearly as big of an undercard.
So now, with Shakur Stevenson posting about the total PPV numbers, fans are calling him out, saying he wasn’t the reason they were that high. Even though he never actually claimed full credit, the internet made sure to put him in his place.
Shakur Stevenson called ‘delusional’ for pay-per-view flex
One user straight-up roasted him, saying: “Bro this sh*t is NOT about you you weren’t even the top 3 fights in that card you fought an electrician on 3 days notice.” Ouch! That one had to sting. Fans were already disappointed that Shakur Stevenson didn’t fight Floyd Schofield as originally planned, and instead, he ended up facing Josh Padley, a part-time electrician, who was brought in at the last minute. Of course, that wasn’t the Newark native’s fault. We all know why Schofield had to pull out. But still, fans weren’t happy.
Another fan felt secondhand embarrassment for the 27-year-old even posting about the numbers, simply commenting: “‘Delete this Shakur.” Then came the accusations of delusion. One user called him out, writing: “This a different type of delusion…..u might need medication cuh.”
And the reality checks just kept coming. Someone else hit him, saying, “Boy ain’t nobody get tht shtt for u stop it .” Similarly, another user broke it down with some cold, hard facts: “45K in USA and 340K GLOBALLY is not number. And it wasn’t Your ppv. It was Bivol vs Beterbiev.” While it is true, that Bivol-Beterbiev were the real stars of the night, the 27-year-old never claimed it was his. One person didn’t even bother with details and just went straight to the point: “Capppppp .”
Another fan took it a step further and flat-out accused him of buying his own PPV: “You bought your own PPV ain’t no f**king way.” And finally, a fan hit him with the ultimate question: “How you taking credit for the PPV and you wasn’t the headline? .” This has got to sting. It seems despite noting “remain humble” in his post, fans took his declaration as him flexing on the numbers. The real lesson? In boxing, as in life, it’s best to let your fists—and not your tweets—do the talking.
So what do you think of the PPV numbers? Do share your thoughts with us below.
The post “It Wasn’t Your PPV”: Fans Clown Shakur Stevenson After 340,000 Flex appeared first on EssentiallySports.
