Eddie Hearn just can’t catch a break these days! One by one, fighters from his camp are heading for the exit—and now, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson has become the latest big name to part ways with the promotion. After failing to convince Edgar Berlanga to extend their contract, the Matchroom boss has warned Stevenson about stepping away from the promotion.
Back in August 2024, Hearn happily announced the news that his promotion had secured a deal with Stevenson. The 27-year-old debuted under the promotion on 22nd February in Riyadh against last-minute replacement Josh Padley, winning the fight via 9th-round knockout on a Riyadh Season card. This leaves Stevenson with one fight under Matchroom.
However, according to a report from respected boxing journalist Dan Rafael, Stevenson may have parted ways with Hearn to partner with promoter Lou DiBella for his next fight. “In reporting on July 12 card with Shakur-Zepeda, [a] source with knowledge of specifics told me Shakur split from Matchroom,” Rafael wrote on X.
“Prince, his manager, has hired Lou DiBella as his promoter for the event to handle things on their behalf,” he added. However, Hearn has now hit back at those claims while warning Stevenson about their deal. In an interview with Seconds Out, Hearn said, “We have a two-fight agreement with Shakur Stevenson and Turki Alalshikh.”
This could cause problems for Stevenson, who spent the first portion of his professional boxing career with Top Rank. Stevenson was also at odds with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh recently, which ended with the Newark native apologizing to the Saudi Royal publicly on social media. Later updates revealed that Stevenson will appear in the co-main event of Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz.
Meanwhile, an old tweet from Stevenson’s new promoter has started causing buzz on social media.
Lou DiBella finds Shakur Stevenson boring
Lou DiBella once admitted he finds Shakur Stevenson boring—a statement that’s now coming back to haunt him. In a July 2024 tweet, shortly after Stevenson’s title defense against Artem Harutyunyan, DiBella wrote, “As good as he is, I just don’t enjoy watching Shakur fights. Goodnight.”
That comment resurfaced recently after news broke that DiBella will promote Stevenson’s upcoming July bout against William Zepeda. While some fans question the partnership, veteran reporter Dan Rafael defended it, citing DiBella’s ties to Stevenson’s manager James Prince and his deep knowledge of the New York boxing scene.
Having said that, it appears Eddie Hearn isn’t about to let go of Shakur Stevenson as the latter secures the biggest fight of his career. It’s yet to be seen whether this ends in a lawsuit, or worse, cancellation of Saudi’s involvement. What are your thoughts on the matter?
The post Shakur Stevenson in Deep Trouble as Eddie Hearn Confirms Turki Alalshikh Contract Amid Matchroom Exit Talks appeared first on EssentiallySports.
