Shakur Stevenson has accused Top Rank of trying to make him look bad in his final fight for a long-term contract on Saturday.
The undefeated WBC super lightweight champion fought and defeated Artem Harutyunyan in defense of his belt but failed to set the world alight again. No matter how dominant, Stevenson’s performances continually come in for flak from fans in the aftermath.
After his latest victory and the end of his Top Rank contract, Stevenson laid into his now former employers for allegedly trying to make him look bad.
On the attendance, officially announced as 8,412 of a 16,755 venue in the Prudential Center, Stevenson said, “I wonder how much they paid them to leave at the same exact time so ESPN could show it on camera.”
When asked why the attendance was confirmed as half the arena, Stevenson added, “Because the higher powers [Top Rank] sent fake reporters who write fake news for them to cap to social media about the attendance, Whatever they can to try and down me!
“Fake numbers. When the higher powers are against you, they’ve got to try their best to put you down.”
Top Rank objective is to push me out. The only problem is I’m still the WBC champion, and none of the fighters they got in the rankings can beat me.
I wonder how much they paid them fuck niggas to leave at the same exact time so ESPN could show it on camera 😂😂😂
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) July 8, 2024
One fan responded to Stevenson and said no one offered to leave. He stated, “I’m just a regular [person] from New York, and nobody paid me to leave. I put that on my mother’s life. People were booing [because] that fight was boring and awful. Please stop trying to blame it on a conspiracy. It was a snooze fest.”
Furthermore, Stevenson replied, “It was the twelfth round!”
Another fan backed Stevenson’s statement about the final round: “It was right before the last round. Everybody knows [people] be trying to beat the traffic, and they already knew you would win.”
“That makes sense, too, so ESPN recorded it to make me look funny. Sick world,” blasted Stevenson. “A whole big organization trying the hardest to tear little ole me down is wild, and I’m still going to prevail!”
After letting his win sink in, Stevenson thanked those who came out to support him and added some motivation for himself.
“The people tried their best to down me last night. No matter how badly the fight was promoted, the people still showed up for me. Shout out to Newark, even the ones that came there hoping I lost. I appreciate that.
“Now they are coming out with fake numbers knowing damn well we sold that [arena] out. Stay focused, champ. These fighters can’t beat you. These bloggers can’t beat you, and these higher-power people can’t beat you. It’s you vs you.”
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
