Two-division world champion, Shakur Stevenson, was expected to face Frank Martin for the vacant WBC lightweight title before the end of the year. However, Martin recently pulled out of the contest, with the boxing world expressing their disappointment at the collapse of what was expected to be an intense all-American showdown.
The events involving Martin, coupled with Stevenson’s inability to land a clash with either Devin Haney or Vasyl Lomachenko has led to frustration for the 26-year-old, who has labelled himself as the ‘Boogeyman of Boxing’ in the past.
In an interview with the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game Podcast, Stevenson went into detail on what he believes was a solid offer for Frank Martin, who would have allegedly earnt four times more than his biggest ever purse and of course had the opportunity to challenge for world honours.
“I’m going to tell you his purse because I want to be real about the whole situation. His highest payday was $250,000, we offered him $1 million dollars.
We offered quadruple more than he has ever made in his entire career. This man agreed, well I don’t know if it was him that agreed, I think it was his team, they agreed to the fight and then pulled out of the fight. How is that not a duck? That means that you are scared for your life, bro.
Truthfully, when it comes down to it, I think that fighters just don’t believe in themselves.”
It now seems that Stevenson will face Edwin De Los Santos on November 16th, as he seeks to become a three-weight champion, topping a Thursday night card that may also feature a WBO super-featherweight bout between Emmanuel Navarrete and Robson Conceicao.