‘Top Rank gave up on him a year ago’: Hearn talks Shakur Stevenson’s free agency

Eddie Hearn says he’ll be having conversations with Shakur Stevenson about potentially bringing him to Matchroom.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn spent some time fielding media questions about this weekend’s headlining fight featuring Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, his interest in seeking out a Terence Crawford fight for Boots, and his thoughts on bringing Shakur Stevenson into the fold as he enters free agency. Check out some of what Hearn had to say on these topics and more down below.

Hearn on Crawford’s up coming fight against Madrimov

“I think this is a banana skin for Crawford...of course, like I said, you make Terence Crawford the favorite but, but, but, big banana skin, Aug. 3rd.”

On what Ennis has to do to demand a fight against Crawford

“Just perform. Just promotion wise, that’s done, we take care of that. But performance. If he goes in on Saturday, doesn’t perform, squeaks out a victory, not a big problem but big disappointment. If he goes in, looks sensational, knocks Avanesyan inside four rounds, the place goes nuts — it’s about momentum.

“So for me, I think one of the best fights in boxing, one of the purest fights in boxing is Crawford against Boots. But we want to take care of business at 147. I feel like we need to unify, we need those tough tests and having done a huge gate here for Saturday I know we can fill the whole place up against the likes of Barrios, against the likes of Stanionis, and that’s what we’ve got to do before we move to 154.

“If Crawford is successful (against Madrimov) that’s a dream fight, not just as Boots’ promoter, but for boxing.”

On if Crawford has told him he’s interested in fighting Boots

“I don’t think so, no. I don’t think he would want that fight. He would probably say ‘well, what’s in it for me, that fight?’ and the answer is, hopefully, a lot of money. Look, Crawford’s a brilliant fighter, I’m sure he’s not afraid of him and I’m sure he believes he beats Jaron Ennis, but also BoMac, Crawford, they’re also incredibly knowledgeable boxing people and they know how good Ennis is.

“I think that’s the toughest fight out there for him, and I don’t think they’ll be queuing up for it but once the demand is there and once someone like his excellency says ‘I want to make that fight, I’m sure they’ll take the fight.”

On a proposed Pacquaio vs Barrios fight

“It’s a very contentious subject, like people moaning about Manny Pacquiao. I think Manny Pacquiao is still good enough to beat most fighters in the top 20 of 147 lbs. He’s clearly not the fighter that he once was, you’re not going to be at that age. My problem is he’s been inactive for quite a long time, like we were talking about him fighting Conor Benn maybe six months ago, or a year, and every month or three months or six months that passes, you do become a lot older.

“So I guess there’s two questions. One is should he be fighting again? And at the end of the day if he’s good enough to beat everybody outside of the top 20 in the world then why not. But should he be fighting for the world title? I guess that’s another question. In the commercial world of boxing the answer is yeah, probably. In the ratings world and activity world, the answer is probably not.”

On if he’s interested in pursuing Shakur Stevenson in his free agency

“He’s coming on Saturday. I’ve done a much better job than Top Rank in promoting him over the past 12 months, I don’t even have a contract with him. Because I answer questions from you guys and I say the same thing all the time: I think he’s a pound for pound great fighter. I think he’s one of the best fighters in the sport.

“He had a good crowd in Newark, he just drew the biggest audience on ESPN of 2024 and people still like to criticize. He’s not Arturo Gatti, he’s not going to go in there with his chin in the air and give you a war every time, but when he’s in with elite opposition you’re going to see some of the best fights in boxing.

“For me, I think he should fight William Zepeda. I think that’s a really good fight...that’s a fight that I would be talking to him about. But also do you really want to sign — this is not a question for me, but for him — a five-fight deal when it may stop you from getting certain fights?

“I think Shakur is probably thinking to himself ‘I have to fight Tank, I have to fight Zepeda, I have to fight Lopez, I have to fight all these guys’ and maybe our discussions are a one-fight or a two-fight or a three-fight, I don’t know. But I think he needs that fluidity to be able to move and make those fights because that’s when you’re going to see the best of him.”

On what three fights he’d want with Stevenson if he signed him to Matchroom

“William Zepeda, maybe a move to 140 to fight a Liam Paro or another champion at 140, and then look to other companies to do a co-promotional deal and a co-platform deal...it really will come down to if Tank and PBC, if they want the Shakur Stevenson fight because that is a very, very, very risky fight for Tank, and he has to come through Lomachenko first.”

On him reportedly telling Bob Arum that he wasn’t interested in offering Stevenson more than Top Rank was paying him

“I said that to Bob. Bob said something to me about Shakur, I went ‘pfft, I’ll tell you what Bob, I’m not paying him what you pay him.’ And it was a tongue-in-cheek comment and I’ll have to pay him what Bob pays him. He’s not going to come — he knows I’m a better promoter, he know’s it’s better for his career, but he’s not going to take less money.

“But he needs to buy into the plan, right, because there’s a lot of work to be done on Shakur Stevenson. At the moment it’s Shakur against the world. He’s fighting all these battles on his own on Twitter, he’s putting out all the fires, and the reality is that’s draining...it’s not a good look and a good plan.

“Top Rank gave up on him a year ago. So he needs to calm on social media, get me doing the talking for him, get the promotional machine working while he’s sleeping, get in the gym and go and beat these guys.”

On who wins between Stevenson and Tank

“See the thing is with Tank, who I think is a brilliant fighter, so exciting, very heavy handed — he loses a lot of rounds. He lost rounds against Frank Martin, he lost rounds against Ryan Garcia, he lost rounds against Pitbull Cruz, and these are all guys that aren’t on the same level as Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson.

“So he has to put a dent in these people, otherwise he’ll get beat. But he does put a dent in them because he punches really hard and Tank’s not just a puncher, he’s got a good boxing IQ as well. I just don’t think the IQ is as good as Lomachenko or as good as Shakur Stevenson. But can he put a dent in them? Because I promise you this, if he don’t stop these people he will be behind at nearly every junction in those fights, Lomachenko included. I think he stops Lomachenko, but he’ll be behind.”