Shakur Stevenson proudly held his WBO and WBC titles. It was a culmination built on hard work and the old-fashioned phrase, blood, sweat, and tears.
It seemed like the super featherweight division would have to deal with Stevenson for the foreseeable future. But, just when he was getting comfortable, poof, it was over.
Stevenson’s time at 130 pounds wasn’t truncated at the hands of a contender or even a fellow champion. Instead, cutting down in weight became unbearable. So, when given new life, Stevenson felt like a new man once he officially moved up. But while a lopsided win over Shuichiro Yoshino proved that he was able to perform at his best in his new division, Stevenson has run into bigger problems.
All that the former Olympic silver medalist wants is to lace up his gloves and face the best of the best. Unfortunately for him, the feeling isn’t exactly mutual.
After being turned down by Vasiliy Lomachenko, Isaac Cruz, and William Zepeda, Stevenson began running out of options. Just a few weeks ago, it appeared as though the 26-year-old would be forced to face an opponent that he wasn’t entirely motivated to take on. Frank Martin, however, was happy as could be once it was announced that the WBC sanctioning body would order a showdown between himself and Stevenson.
As reported by BoxingScene.com, the sides had reportedly agreed to virtually everything. The only temporary snag in their WBC vacant title fight was a date and location.
None of that mattered to Stevenson. He finally got one of the division’s top names to face him. But while Stevenson was happy as could be, his smile was wiped off his face.
For whatever reason, Martin removed himself from the equation, leaving Stevenson without a dance partner. Now, forced to start from scratch once again, Stevenson, while venting on his social media account, is wondering why Martin left him at the altar.
“You should have said no off rip if you didn’t want no wreck.”