Boxing history is littered with fighters who announce their retirement and stay out of the game for a while before reassessing the field and returning.
Will Shakur Stevenson stick to the retirement announcement he made via social media on Tuesday? Don’t bet on it.
Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) is a three-weight world champion and the current WBC lightweight champion. Blessed with blinding speed and sublime skills, the Newark native is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today and his biggest fights are still ahead of him.
However glorious it may seem, the 26-year-old Olympic silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Games doesn’t look happy.
“I am officially retiring from the sport of boxing,” Stevenson said via Twitter (X). “I’ll be in the gym forever honing my craft and helping the next generation be great and chase their dreams, but I’m not far from this weak game of boxing.”
So will Stevenson stand his ground or go the way of Sugar Ray Leonard and Tyson Fury? Both fighters spent years out of the game, only to return and claim more world title glory. And retirements can end much faster than that. Just ask super lightweight king Teofimo Lopez, who lasted just over a month.
Why did Shakur Stevenson retire?
With his undefeated record, pound-for-pound talent and collection of world titles, Stevenson would seem destined to receive the kind of multimillion-dollar payouts that superstars consider standard.
However, despite scoring solid wins over the likes of Jamel Herring and Oscar Valdez, the biggest fights aren’t coming for the American.
A fight with Vasiliy Lomachenko looked close last year when the WBC ordered a fight for the vacant lightweight title between the talented Ukrainian and Stevenson.
Unfortunately, Loma had other plans, and after undefeated American Frank Martin withdrew from negotiations, Stevenson ended up facing the unknown Edwin De Los Santos.
Stevenson won its third division title and very few fans after a boring game without much action.
A showdown with Gervonta Davis seems even less likely. Stevenson has made no secret of the fact that he would like to face fellow undefeated pound-for-pound Davis, only for Tank’s trainer Calvin Ford to pour cold water on the idea last week.
“Do fans pay for that? Why would I put Tank in that situation when we can’t do what we do? Ford told Marko_Boxing.
“Right now, if Tank doesn’t get a knockout… do you understand what I’m saying? Everyone thinks Tank has to knock someone out to win a fight. In that fight with Shakur, I thought [De Los Santos] won the first round. They gave the first round to Shakur. Do you want to get into a fight like that?
Reading between the lines, Team Davis views Stevenson as high risk, low reward.
I am officially retiring from the sport of boxing. I’ll be in the gym forever honing my craft and helping the next generation be great and chase their dreams, but I’m not far from this weak boxing game ??
—Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) January 30, 2024
Who could Shakur Stevenson fight against?
If the boxing world didn’t have a habit of shooting itself in the foot, Stevenson could mix it up with a variety of big names across three divisions.
There were strong rumors that WBO 130-pound champion Emmanuel Navarrete would move up to lightweight for a showdown against Stevenson. Talks appeared to stall when Navarrete drew in November against Robson Conceicao, whom Stevenson defeated in 2022.
Aside from the Lomachenko and Davis fights at lightweight, you also have Devin Haney at super lightweight. In December, Haney moved up to 140 pounds and claimed the WBC crown at the expense of Regis Prograis.
Stevenson and Haney have traded barbs on social media, but have not yet exchanged blows.
