Ryan Garcia gave Shakur Stevenson a reality check on social media, delivering a scathing rebuke of the fighter who was left dejected after his much-criticized win over Artem Harutyunyan last Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark.
He suggested Shakur “microdose on mushrooms,” his way of giving Stevenson a way to soften the blow to his ego that he was taking from fan backlash over his lackluster wins.
Ryan's brutal honesty
Garcia was very critical of Shakur, telling him at X, “Everybody knows you're scared in the ring. You fight like a scared man,” a fact Ryan, in typical Howard Cossell style, stating as it was, a truth Shakur probably didn't want to face.
Shakur, the WBC lightweight champion, responded to a slew of criticism on social media and attempted to defend his performance.
Shakur won a 12-round decision, but it wasn't enough of a spectacular showing to inspire one of the big promoters to sign him on the free agent market: He needed a knockout but lacked the power to land a flurry of punches with full force as Harutyunyan looked stunned in the ninth round.
Shakur is optimistic that teaming up with another promoter could give him the fight he's always wanted, against Gervonta Davis or Vasiliy Lomachenko.
The harsh truth about free agency
Unfortunately, wherever Shakur goes, whether it's PBC or Matchroom, there's no guarantee he'll get a fight against Tank or Lomachenko, and it's also highly unlikely he'll get the $15 million for five fights offer or anything equivalent that Shakur was offered but rejected by Top Rank to re-sign.
Matchroom's Eddie Hearn said he's not willing to pay Shakur what Bob Arum paid Top Rank, and unless he changes his mind, Shakur should give up on signing him. If they can't deliver Tank and Lomachenko on a silver platter, it might not be worth it.
Matchroom has no fighters to offer Shakur other than Andy Cruz, Regis Prograis, Liam Paro, Jack Catterall and Richardson Hitchens, some or all of whom are likely to beat Shakur, and Shakur would have to move up to 140 pounds to win. None of them are big-money PPV fights in the US.
Tim Bradley started speaking his true feelings on air, but then a higher power told him to switch that energy. My friend Kriegal jumped in the ring and asked mostly negative questions because a higher power told him to do so. Tough match, but they…
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) July 8, 2024
