Shakur Stevenson is reportedly getting a $5 million guaranteed purse for the title defense of his WBC lightweight belt against Joe Cordina on October 12th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fans on social media are apoplectic about the $5M Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) is getting, and they’re even more upset that his fight with Cordina 17-1, 9 KOs) will be headlining on DAZN PPV. They’re on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, but that fight is being cropped and shown on ESPN+ for free for their subscribers.
Shakur already took to social media to tell what he’s about now, saying he’s “Chasing the bag” now. He’s focusing on money.
If the DAZN PPV event on October 12th bombs badly, it could immediately hurt Shakur’s future paydays. Shakur is the headline attraction for the card, so if it brings in poor numbers, it will reflect on him because he’s the main guy.
Is the Purse Deserved?
Shakur’s $5M purse is way above what fans feel he should be receiving, given the level of opponent he’s facing and his recent lackluster performances against Artem Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos.
Fans feel Shakur should receive between $750K and $1 million for his opponent’s low value and his abysmal performances.
Cordina, 32, was knocked out in the eighth round by his last opponent, Anthony Cacace, on May 18th. He’s making his debut at 135 and getting an immediate title shot coming off of a KO loss. It’s like Cordina is going to the Super Bowl after losing in the championship game, which makes a mockery of the sport.
Cordina is skipping the line at 135, and it shouldn’t be like that. For him to get a title shot, he should prove himself against fighters like Raymond Muratalla, De Los Santos, Andy Cruz, Abdullah Mason, Keyshawn Davis and William Zepeda, Those fighters, by the way, should be the ones fighting Shakur for his WBC title.
When he faces William Zepeda, things will even out with Shakur, and he is likely knocked out next February. Once he loses to Zepeda, his purses will drop, and he’ll be where he should be, getting smaller paydays.
