Shakur Stevenson revered Frank Martin at one point. Actually, it wasn’t that long enough. The former Olympic silver medalist respected his skills and even more, admired his willingness to fight any and everyone, including him.
After struggling to find an opponent, Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) was as happy as could be once Martin officially agreed to face him. But, just a few days after the news broke, Martin had a change of heart.
The 28-year-old reneged on his commitment and will now go in another direction. Stevenson, unsurprisingly, unleashed a curse-filled tirade with Martin being at the center of it all.
“He’s p—-,” said Stevenson on Million Dollaz Worth of Game. “He’s a b—-, a straight b—-. I never seen anybody more b—- made than Frank Martin.”
For the most part, Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) has fallen off the grid. The Detroit native hasn’t provided much clarity as to why he pulled out of his November showdown with Stevenson and has simply allowed the public to believe what they want. Stevenson though, isn’t a fan of playing in the shadows. His hatred of Martin isn’t coming out of thin air. So, when given the floor, the former two-division champ pulled back the curtain and revealed what went wrong during those conclaves.
“I talked to him on the dm,” continued Stevenson. “I explained to this man, look, this is how much money the fight is. You’re not that big of a name, you ain’t bringing nothing to the table. I’m the name. This is how much the fight is worth. He tried to act like it wasn’t 25% but it is. He wants 50/50 or he’s not fighting me. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Splitting the financial pie right down the middle is bemusing for Stevenson. Although he’s just 26 years of age, his resume places him amongst the pound-for-pound best. Two world title reigns in separate divisions, including a unified run at 130 pounds, coupled with incredibly lopsided wins, has left Stevenson believing that he’s the clear A side.
When he juxtaposed his accomplishments to Martin’s, Stevenson was even more vexed that the 28-year-old allegedly asked for a fair and even split.
“He never won a title, he never done nothing in the sport of boxing.”