Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) isn’t too happy with Turki Alalshikh.
The southpaw from Newark is fresh off a TKO victory against Josh Padley (16-1, 5 KOs) in Riyadh and is all set to soon face William Zepeda. He recently locked horns with Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn, citing payday issues with the Zepeda fight. And now, barely out of the disagreement, he seems to have found a bone to pick with Riyadh season supremo, Turki Alalshikh.
Stevenson sat down for a conversation with DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God for the latest episode of ‘The Breakfast Club’ podcast, which also featured Akin “AK” Reyes. During the talk, he was asked about the Matchroom fiasco and his tweets regarding the issue.
“I can’t say all the details, but all I can say is, in business, you are going to go back and forth. You know, like, God feels. ‘He’s worth this,’ and somebody says, ‘Oh no, you’re worth this!’ So at the end of the day, I’m a guy, I stand on principle. I stand on integrity. Shout out to J. Prince, he came in and he helped the situation,” he said.
This was when AK pitched in by saying that during his conversation with Eddie Hearn the day prior, he was told that Stevenson earned a premium because he fought in Saudi Arabia. And with the consequent fight taking place in Central Park, a similar payday wasn’t exactly on the table.
While Stevenson nodded in agreement, he did not wish to disclose the details of the conversation. There were also rumors floating around that Stevenson apologized to Alalshikh in order to get a higher payday. When asked about the same, he surprisingly agreed and mentioned that there was miscommunication, which he had to man up for.
However, he does believe that Alalshikh needs better boxing advisors.
“Just like this card, they got me the co-main event under Edgar (Berlanga). You know Edgar, my homie, I ain’t gonna say nothing bad about him. But I’m the biggest star on the card. I’m the guy like people want to see. I’m in the biggest fight, I got the best resume,” he said. “So just to put on the undercard, it just doesn’t make sense.”
“Don’t Shake My Hand”
While Stevenson might not have expected the backlash, Berlanga has certainly taken offense to his words, calling himself the “biggest star”. In a now deleted post, Berlanga expressed his displeasure and mentioned that he had been telling people that it was a double main event featuring “2 superstars”.
“KING OF NEW YORK SH*T! Ya going to sleep then I’ll be the one to wake y’all back up with the fireworks!” he wrote. “P.S. don’t shake my hand when you see me. I don’t wanna break ya hands before the fight.” Stevenson later apologized to Berlanga in the comments.
Discover more from Fights Around The World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
