Gervonta Davis' assistant coach, Kenny Ellis, doubts Shakur Stevenson can beat number one ranked lightweight contender William Cepeda.
Top Rank has protected Shakur since he turned pro, but any team that signs him as a free agent will likely want him to fight a natural killer like Cepeda, and that could be game over for Shakur.
Shakur's defensive strategy may not be enough
Ellis told Mill City Boxing that Shakur would have to be able to “fight him off,” but he doesn't think he can do that against a fighter like Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs), who would likely cut Shakur off from the ring, fend off weak punches and knock him out.
Edwin De Los Santos lost his fight against Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) last November because he didn't know how to block off the ring while running away from Shakur. When he caught up with Shakur, he was too cautious and showed too much respect.
Cepeda is great at cutting off his opponents' rings and isn't afraid to get on the offensive to get his combinations in. Shakur will have a tough time facing Cepeda and his movement won't allow him to get caught out.
Stevenson's lack of enthusiasm
Stevenson didn't seem too excited about facing Cepeda when his name was mentioned during his press conference following his win over Artem Harutyunyan last Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The only two people Shakur has expressed interest in facing next are Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko, but unless he's willing to take a year or two out of the ring to wait until one of them is available, it's unlikely they'll be his next opponents.
Shakur holds the WBC belt but has yet to make a mandatory defense since winning it against De Los Santos last year. His time as champion could be over if the World Boxing Council orders Shakur to face Cepeda. He would lose the title if he does not face Cepeda.
Other candidates pose a bigger threat
What fans saw in last night's fight against Harootunyan and then Shakur vs. de los Santos is a fighter who doesn't have the firepower to beat the best and is biding his time as the WBC belt holder.
Again, if De Los Santos had known how to cut the ring and shown the courage of Cepeda to attack Shakur, he would not have been champion. If either of those factors had been present, Shakur would have lost to De Los Santos.
The problem is that De Los Santos is just not nearly as good as other contenders like Cepeda, Abdullah Mason, Andy Cruz and Floyd Schofield, all of whom would be nightmares for Shakur.
A warning to promotion companies
Shakur is a risky investment and the promoters PBC and Matchroom should realize his weaknesses and stop signing him because he is not worth the money unless it is a one fight deal against a strong opponent.
It would be a money maker, because Shakur would be exposed and after he was ruined, his popularity would plummet.
