Shakur Keeps Foster Waiting — “Rabbit Got The Gun”

Shakur Stevenson posted on social media, remarking how it’s “no fun’ now that he’s in the power position, choosing to delay his WBC mandatory defense against interim champion O’Shaquie Foster.

Foster (24-3, 12 KOs) demanded that Shakur defend his WBC lightweight title against him next after the Texas native defeated Stephen Fulton by a 12-round unanimous decision last Saturday night to capture the WBC interim title at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

Shakur Flaunts Power on X

“Ain’t no fun when the rabbit got the gun,” said Shakur Stevenson on X, reflecting on how he’s freezing out WBC interim lightweight champion O’Shaquie Foster

Shakur replied to O’Shaquie’s request for a fight, saying on X, “Now I’m in the driver’s seat. I don’t gotta vacate s***, I just fought my mandatory [William Zepeda] my last fight.”

Stevenson Moves the Goalposts

To make it even more complicated, Stevenson said that Foster now must first defeat his #3 contender at 130, Raymond Ford (18-1-1, 8 KOs), before he’d agree to fight him. In other words, Foster must earn his title shot against him, even though he already did by defeating Fulton to capture the WBC interim 135-lb title to become his mandatory.

“It’s all good, Sav [Raymond Ford], cause he won’t get an opportunity with me until he fights you.. That WBC s*** don’t move me,” said Shakur, making it clear that he’s not going to be forced into giving Foster a title shot.

It doesn’t make sense for Shakur to insist that Foster fight super featherweight Ray Ford when he’s now at lightweight and already in position to challenge for his WBC title.

Turki Money & Safe Matchmaking

Boxing fans on social media view Stevenson’s behavior as a sign that he’s afraid to face O’Shaquie and potentially lose to him. If he gets beaten by him, it could end the big million+ paydays that Turki Alalshikh has been giving him since last year. He’s been paying Shakur top dollar for non-risky fights against Josh Padley and William Zepeda.

Shakur was fine with fighting those guys because he obviously knew he had no worries of losing. But now that he’s faced someone who could dry up that oil money that has been coming in by the barrelfuls, filling his bank account without him risking his hide.

If Stevenson loses to Foster, he could be replaced by him on Turki’s cards. We’d have a replacement and one that doesn’t need to be protected.

Turki hasn’t insisted that Shakur put himself at risk. He could have shown Shakur some tough love by telling him that if he wants the millions, he’s got to fight guys like Foster, Andy Cruz, Floyd Schofield, and Abdullah Mason.