"Those fights aren't gonna draw!" - Bob Arum slams talk of Shakur Stevenson unifying titles

Bob Arum (L) believes that Shakur Stevenson (R) shouldn't unify the super featherweight titles.
Bob Arum (L) believes that Shakur Stevenson (R) shouldn't unify the super featherweight titles.

Shakur Stevenson's promoter Bob Arum believes that he shouldn't be looking at unifying the Super Featherweight Championships.

The 24-year-old faced off against Oscar Valdez last Saturday night with the WBO, WBC, and The Ring Super Featherweight Titles on the line. The bout was expected to be the biggest test of Stevenson's career to date, but it wound up being one-sided traffic.

Stevenson dominated the match, having Valdez swinging in the air all night. With the victory, he has claimed three of the five titles at super featherweight. However, if things go his promoter's way, it'll stop there.

Bob Arum spoke to BoxingScene regarding what's next for Stevenson. He noted that it's unlikely to be a bout with WBA Champion Roger Gutierrez or IBF Titleholder Kenichi Ogawa next.

“F*** being the Unified Champion. Screw that! There’s not a person in this room that knows the WBA Champion or the IBF Champion. So, who wants to put those fights on? They’re not gonna draw s***... Shakur can defend titles against other fighters at 130. There’s a lot of good fighters that he can fight [at 130], not the [jabronis] that are champions of the WBA and the IBF.”

See Bob Arum's interview with BoxingScene below:


Shakur Stevenson discusses who he could fight next

Shakur Stevenson is conflicted on who he would like to fight next. He's supposedly deciding between taking a big money fight, or fighting a champion.

Against Arum's wishes, the 24-year-old has displayed an interest in becoming an Undisputed Champion. Stevenson has stated that he would like to capture all of the belts down the line, which would make fights against Gutierrez and Ogawa necessary.

However, there is also another big bout out there for the Super Featherweight Champion. Following his victory over Valdez, Stevenson was rumored to be in for a fight with another Top Rank fighter, former champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.

While a fight with 'Loma' would have to be in the future due to his ongoing military service, Stevenson confirmed that he's interested in the fight. On the DAZN Boxing show, he said:

"I'm down for a Vasyl Lomachenko fight. I don't duck no action. I don't care who it is, I'm gonna keep the same energy. I'm down for that type of fight. Truth be told, I'm torn between all the belts and a big fight."

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