INTERVIEW: Shakur Stevenson Talks Upcoming Fight With William Zepeda, Wanting To Fight Tank, Mase Beef + More

Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club morning.

Everybody is Steve j n V Jess hilarious, Charlamagne to god, we are the Breakfast Club is here as well.

That means we got a special guest in the building.

That's right, you know, the lightweight. Everybody's scared to fight if you ask me, ladies.

And gentlemen, Chr. Stevenson, welcome brother.

Was good, It was good, was good?

Mix is Mike Charlamane so close to the port right there? How you feeling, I'm good, I'm good.

You fighting against Williams the Potter on July twelfth, Right, that's a mandatory.

Here's a he actually the intern champs.

He got the little belt my weight class, soa beat him up.

A little belt.

He's a little belt, a little belt.

What do you think of him? It skills all that good stuff.

Now, he's actually a really tough fighter.

He's gonna come and put the pressure and he's gonna come to fight. So it ain't gonna be a boring fight. It's gonna be an entertaining fight. I was ready to put on the show.

I want to know what everybody afraid to fight? I don't know if it's afraid of what right. But I saw Roly recently say that you are overrated because he said he feels like you got a weak resume. To me, I don't know if you. I don't think your resume is your fault because it's not like you aren't calling out these guys. It's not like you don't want to fight the best. Yeah.

Actually, I'm the guy that really tried to fight everybody. My last fight, I tried to fight the kid Austin guy. He ended up sick and caught the flu. And I tried to fight Frank Main he pulled out. So I can't really take what really said. Serious really been knocked out before.

You and you can't like clown clown somebody like that, can't call somebody like what do you? What's a weak resume? If you won titles in different divisions. He's a former unified champion.

Besides Tank, what's his resume?

Yeah? And he got knocked out truthfully.

Any Yeah, any got knocked out.

So to who who would you want to fight? Who would you love to fight that you feel like you just can't get it done? And do you want to fight?

I don't want to keep saying that said, you want to fight thing.

But I think that's the biggest fight in the sport of boxing from Baltimore.

You want to thank the knock you out?

Yeall?

I want to fight taking. That's nice, But why do you want to thank the sod?

That sound good?

That sounded real good.

But she's too little to promise you. Too little, and you're gonna be surprised that night. Matter of fact, you probably thought Lament was gonna get knocked out too.

She did.

I didn't exactly, I didn't, but not the grease with the Yeah.

Did the fight with Roades change how you looked at tanking anyway?

I knew how the fight was gonna go. I bet money and one money that night. I knew exactly how that fight was gonna go. I had my training camp for Sparing, and when he pulled up a Sparing, I kind of knew, like what type of fight he was, the kind of image in my brain how the fight was gonna go with him and Tank and I where it kind of went exactly.

Like I said, I can't won the fight. I thought Lamon one fact, we could sit.

Here and no, I'm not gonna fight.

With the little knee.

I thought lament one Lamar definitely surprised.

Even even though they didn't call the knee a knockdown, you still felt Lamark one more rounds.

Yes, I thought there was at least seven five. How you think the new one's gonna go? The one coming up with fight Lamar? Actually, like, I hope he don't get a rid with him again.

Because at the end of the day, if he lose, it's just gonna look bad on the fight with me.

So it's gonna look like somebody else already did it.

He that fight Stock is gonna go a little down. But I heard Tank might be fighting Jake paul Is.

Still what do you think about that fight?

If that happens, you think he takes it out of real fighting to uh this is.

You know, it's a business.

So he probably just trying to go get a bag, So I ain't you know, I don't knocked nobody for trying to make a bag.

But mm hmm, I think he do gotta fight me before he retire.

I don't think it's interesting, right because this Tank have a great resume when you.

Look at it like that, I think his resume is solid.

I think it's just kind of down play it just because he kind of weight drained a lot of people, so he ain't really fight guys at his best, and when he kind of fought the people that was comfortable at the way class, he kind of struggled like pig Bull and yeah, yeah.

I mean and because he you know, so accepted by our community that you know, the hip hop culture, he became very popular in because he he knocks people out. But when you think about it, I think that the stigma is the guys, the big names, the chakors, the to your females and Devin he hasn't fought those guys, and that's in the back of everybody's mind.

Why don't those fights happen.

I think it's a lot of politics.

To Michael a little closer, Yeah, I think it's.

A lot of politics, though I think it's a lot of people, you know, getting away a certain fight scene. It's also fighters too, Like Tank got to be the person that says, I want to fight this guy. And when he says he want to fight somebody, he's gonna make it happen.

So it's on him.

You really just flit with a mattrom and Eddie Hurt.

Uh No, I'm just like you, I realize what my situation is. Whatever I want.

So if I want Eddie to be involved, Eddie gonna be involved in If I don't want him involved, He's not gonna be involved. But I actually like Eddie Herner. I've been telling people for the longest. I think he's one of the best promoters in the sport of boxing.

So what do you think about the new Saudi chic that's really been taking over boxing and investing a lot of money in the boxing.

I like it.

I like it. It's kind of like a giving a curse because I feel like he wanted to make the biggest and best fights happen, but also he got to know, like what fighters is the best fighters? Like he gotta understand the sport of boxing a little bit more too. So I like it, but still it's like I.

Want him, like, do a little bit more homework and understand, like who is the best fighters? In you want? If you want the best versus the best, make the best versus the best?

Not really can you talk about the little I guess not disagreement but miscommunication you have with him because you fought in Saudi against Padley, you say you have the biggest bag of your life over there, and you made easy work of Paddley and you had a two fight deal with Mattrow and then for this payd the fight you put out on social media. They promised me a certain amount of money and now they backtracking on that. But then then you put out a tweet saying we

I mean, I can't really tell all the details.

All I'm gonna say is like in business, you're going to go back and forth, you know, like God feels he's worth this and somebody say, oh no, you're worth this. So at the end of the day, I'm a guy. I stand on principal, I saying on integrity. HM, we got it together. So shout out to Jay Prince.

He came in and the situation.

Because I spoke to her and yesterday and I asked him the same thing and he was like, well, the original deal was for Chakorta fighting Saudi, and when you fight in Saudi there's a premium, you get a little bit more. This fight is supposedly going to be in Central Park. I don't know if it's true. That's the rumors. That's why it was a little lessons that something like that.

Oh yeah, it's something according to that. That was what I heard. But like I said, I don't.

Try to speak to.

What do you think about that? It was giving you a little backlass because they said you apologize just to get a higher pay day? Did he say that? Like, all right, man, you better apologize for that.

Now the day it was kind of a miscommunication and I kind of reacted quick instead of thinking about what I was doing. So with the miscommunication, I kind of, you know, that's why I just had to, you know, be a man and do what I had to do.

Tight shit, And you.

Said something else that makes a lot of sense. Who is talking to the about boxing?

That's what I'll be saying.

I feel as though, like I ain't gonna say the people around him, but I do think that a lot of people need to do their homework enough to understand what's what once they understand it. Just like with this car, they got me the Cole main event under you know, my homie. I ain't gonna say nothing bad about him, but I'm the biggest star in the car and I'm the guy that's like people want to see I'm in

I didn't even look at the card. I just assumed that that was the main event.

Yeah, but I heard that. It's kind of like what's happening in tom Square. They're like all made events, like kind of Cole Maine or Maine.

Even if they was main event. Take me out that car. What do you think that car does? Like nobody really gonna pay attention to it. They paying attention to it because it's me.

Yeah, I mean, you're the only multi division champions. So I hear you. I hear your argument. But as far as Turkey, I'll touch on that too. He's a real fight fan, right, he loves the sport and he's obviously poured so much money into it, so he wants to get it right. He'll take you know, Eddie Hearn knows the sport and other people, so he's trying to make it better. But when you come into something like that,

He is making the best fights to me over the last couple of years.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, he tried to make the best fights, but it's still you know, I like, I like the biggest and best fights.

I want to fight Tank now.

I was gonna ask you, what's your opinion on the way that these fights, like a Times Square fight in Central Paul fight and how does that affect the box because it could be too humid out there, So so how do do you like those type of fights where it's just off.

Brand of what it usually is?

Or I don't care where I'll fight that we can fight anywhere, truthfully, but you got.

A link on your face when you have your.

You almost got.

It looking at that.

But nah, No, I think that the Central Park and I think that's cool.

Like I think you know people who are performed in Central Park before, So it's gonna be a big event.

I'm all for it.

Has Turkey have you ever had a conversation with Turkey, you j Prince about Tank and like, has he ever said that I'm gonna make tanking off for the fight.

You now, he definitely want the tank fight. You want to tank, Like I said, it all up the tank. So he got just come on board and let's make a big ass bad let's do it.

When you talk about fighting outside, do you think there's like an underappreciated mental side to boxing that fans and commentators don't understand you talk about.

Yes, yes, yes, I think like a lot of people don't know about boxing. I remember it was a quote where Roger Maywell said, most people don't know about boxing.

That's a fact. But you know it brings odds to the sport.

You know, you got the YouTubers now in the sport of box. He got a lot of people that's paying attention to it. So I appreciate the viewers, but I do think people need to do a little bit more homework.

I think it's a sweet science. I mean I think even with you, you know what I mean, Like if I've seen people somebody called you to who wasn't recently that called on the best defensive fighter ever Sean Porter, I don't remember a lot of people. So it's just like it's like a sweet science to what you do, Like it may not be knockout knockouts all the time, but you're a fantastic boxer.

Yeah, you know some nice I may come out there and put on the amazing performance and put on the offensive display like I did with Jamel Harris. So it just depends on what happens that night or what I'm feeling that night.

At the end of the day.

You think you can hurt Tank your fight, Yes.

I mean you gotta realize Lamar had no disrespect to Lamar either. He had what ten knockouts I got, well Elevin, we ain't too far off, and he was kind of hurting them too, So if he could hurt I know I can heard him too.

What about you? And Lamar was here last time we was over here and I asked him about you if I guess if the Tank fight doesn't happen, Perfect, We was talking about if he wins. He said, yeah, she calls on my list next Perfect.

I think that uh me and him been talking about.

This for years, so like I already like my boy. I'm real cool with him, but we could really squabble at the end of the day. So if you come down to it and Tank say he don't want to fight him again, I'll go fighting my next.

Let's talk about your bro Keyshawn Davis right like, obviously he on fire right now, he about to fight Dello Santo's a common opponent that you fought, and people are really trying to put you out against each other, not not only in a fight, but just like, oh, I think he gonna beat Delo Santos better than Chakour did. Do you worry about that at all?

Nah, because at the end of the day, I want him to.

Like, at the end of the day, you gotta realized when I met Keith Shan was like thirteen years old, little bad kid from the gutter, and it's like I kind of like grabbed him up, like this is my brother.

May come better and shit. So it's like now to.

See him evolving, to see him become world champion, that's something good for me.

Like if he go out there and crush Dela Santos, that's good for me. That makes me feel good about just myself too.

You taking them under the wing and all that.

Yeah, it's like my brother. So at the end of the day, I'm not.

Most fighters are throwing shots at that. They're like, man, the ain't no friends or brothers in this business. I don't know why your court saying he'll never fight Key Shawan and vice versa.

But if you have somebody that you're really close with, you gotta get in the ring and you gotta kill mentality. He gotta kill mentality. It's like what you're talking about, I don't want to hear that shit.

So I feel I fight.

Tell any fighters that got something to say about it, like me, how about that?

How difficult to not take boxing personal because you'll all going in there and beating up on each other.

You know what I'm saying.

I mean, it's very difficult.

You gotta still understand it's the business in the sport at the end of the day. That's why I kind of used to go wrong. I used to always take it personally. I used to feel like because it's my life at the end of the day. So I'm just at a point where it's like, I understand it's a business. I understand it's a sport. Just how you said Tank going to fight Jake Paul. That makes sense, Like, I get why you will go fight Jake Paul, but just don't retire without fighting me.

It's how I feel that smoke.

So you know, the Tank j Paul think is cool if it's a real fight. I mean, I really mean that. I don't know how real these fights are.

Well, Jake Paul fights are real. I'm gonna speak on his behalf because I've you know.

Fake fights before.

I'm not saying they fake, but I think people might hold back a little bit, like the Tyson fight.

Oh that's a real fight.

I don't know if Tyson that's a real fight. Put it like this. If Tank don't knock out Jake Paul within thirty to forty five seconds, it ain't real to me.

WHOA Why do you feel that way?

There's little Jake Paul is like two hundred plus on the regular.

I still think I still personally believe Tan shold knock them. I remember when May wasn't Logan.

Paul, you thought he should have not.

No, I didn't thin he should knock Logan out, but he made Logan look silly. So Tank with his powers should be able to clean up.

But Jake is way better than his brother Logan. That's to start to knock out Jake Paul. I mean that can happen, but I I just don't know how that fight makes sense because he's so much heavier than them, so I don't know how they gonna make We.

Thought about that with the Mayweather Logan and I was telling everybody, y'all think Logan is gonna come in there and knock me Weather out. No, like Mayweather the greatest fight of all time. He's a boxer.

Power like I get. The power is real. I get all of that.

But at the end of the day, that's a man that's like almost one hundred pounds bigger than him.

So I don't see it, you know.

So what that said one of your mentors is also but and he's going up a lot of ways to fight Canelo.

But it ain't a hundred pounds fifty right.

Right now. He had one fifty four, So it's just two way class sixty eight. Yeh. I think you started that whole thing right here when you said would you fight him? Cannelo, Bud comes up to one six stick, would you fight? And I was about to.

That was our only do it become the one sixty eight man.

I've been saying that for years.

Though I've been saying for years I think Buddo to be Canelo. I think Bud just got the style at a out box Canelo. I've seen Canelo get out box several times, so I think Budd is the guy.

What did you think Budd was gonna lose?

When he thought and everybody was gonna lose and he came in here, Charlamagne is gonna lose.

He came, I'm saying that for you because I've always been an Earl Spens fan. But god damn.

Actually I had been a lot of money that night too. I made so much money that night. I've been in, I've been I wasn't kent with Bud, Like I've seen how he was trained, I've seen how he was feeling it. He just had a chip on the shoulder, and watching him with that chip on his shoulder it kind of like motivated me, like it was like a very motivational situation.

So close with it.

Terrence Crawf Right, that's my brother. Yeah, I saw yesterday. He was like, you matter treat my brother right when they come up there? Did you hear whatever May said?

Though?

Who mace?

Mace?

What he say?

May had this to say, He said, I don't want to see chaqour fight. I'm gonna be honest, No, disrespecting nork, but I don't want to see Chicour fight nobody for him to be hanging out with Terrence Crawford and Andre Ward. It's absolutely no way that he's fighting the way he's fighting, you know.

Like like like I said with the other people, like I can't really take some of these guys too serious because it's like they make a living off of trolling people. Like trolling is what they do on a regular basis. So even before when I kind of reacted to them, I don't feel the same way now now was like, Okay, I understand the business aspect of it, so quotos to him, but I'm gonna keep making money. I'm gonna keep being the best, and none of these niggs could be me.

They're not saying anything about you that they didn't say about somebody like a Floyd like because people do not for whatever reason, people don't respect defensive fighters.

Even wars. She mentioned Ward. They said the same thing about Dre Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I think it's a stigma the black fighters who don't get out box people, but like a limit Chenko or Befoll can go out box the same people and you don't never hear no boring things on them, So I just hear it, but it is what it is.

Does that get into your head when you're in the ring, though, like, because you know you got your style, does it make you feel like y'all want to be a little bit more aggressive? I do want to try to get a knockout just to shut people up.

Yeah, it kind of did, And that's where I'll be going wrong because I always realized my knockouts come from not trying, Like I don't expect it when I knock people out. But with that like in mind, is like you gotta tame tame yourself. You gotta calm down, relax, and not look for the knockout. When you look for it, it kind of get sloppy and it gets a little ugly. So me knowing that now, I just go in there and not looking for it, and if it comes, it comes.

You know, you're You're a big lightweight in my opinion, like one thirty five, so you obviously I don't think you small. I've seen like where I think you could be at one it will be a fair size in that division. So obviously, if the tank fight doesn't happen, there's so many fights at one forty.

Like I said, I will move up for the big fight, for the big fight if it's like a little fight that don't make sense, like I'm really not a forty pound, Like really, no, I'm not a forty pound.

I'm I'm barely even a third.

You don't think you in your career at least at one forty seven or something.

I used to think that, but nah, no I think so. I mean I will go there for the right fights. Like I just watch a kind of been I like, kind of being too.

No disrespect, tough.

But I would fight him at like what I told you, for the right I swear.

I him kind of tough man. He throws hard punches.

Like I said, for the right fights, I will move up in the hard to get get up to that kind of weight. I mean, you have to, like I guess, train a little harder for as weight wise and put on a little bit more weight.

But I think skills pay the bills.

Like I feel like with my skills, I can fight a lot of guys at the higherway class. Well that slowed you down defensively though, Nah, my defense is always there. Like I said, I spar with Bud on the regularly. I sparred with big guys regularly, so it ain't gonna slow nothing.

Now.

It was Sean Porter who said he feels like for my last camp, okay, okay, so that maybe that's what he got that from it. He said, I've never seen a fighter with the kind of defense that should call Stevenson has and he says he feels that you're He feels like your defense is even greater than Maywell.

Shout out to Sean Porter, man, that's my guy.

Actually when he pulled up, when he pulled up, he shout out to my youngest back head to this Moses and Maywell chance young fighters, my little cousin and THEMN and my little brother too.

So mm hmm. Young fighters coming up. They professionally to fight.

But but how did you feel when Sean said that about you?

I appreciate it because Sean actually been in there first hand. So he went to the ring and sparred me, so he's seeing what I can do. And when he got out the ring, he kind of knew like, Okay, he's the guy. So I appreciate Sean. Actually, I feel like if Sean wanted to come back right now, he could come back for the right fight.

Wow.

Yeah, he kind of surprised me. He did six rounds with me, so I respect him.

If did you did you study made Weather?

Yes?

Okay, I study everything about Floyd from head to toe.

When he heard that or if he heard it, did he hit you up? Like all right, now, you don't don't think you better than me?

You know, Floyd sowhere. Floyd didn't hit me up and say nothing like that.

Floyd is actually a cool dude for me personally, Like I hit the stories about him, I don't really take into it because he kind of won.

On one with me.

Cool, but he wouldn't say something like that.

Yeah, like competitors right now, I would love to.

But like the thing is, like even when I watch, because I know he probably a little hesitating about sparring the young fighters now because with Devin's situation, they kind of put out there that they beat him up and all of that.

I'm not that type of dude.

Like if I sparred Floyd, nobody would know how it went. It would be just me learning. Like I wouldn't even go in there to try to like Floyd older now, so I wouldn't going there to try to get off on Floyd. I'm going in there to learn, Like, Okay, let me watch his reaction, let me see how his speed is at this age. What little tricks he got going there. I probably take them tricks and use them in the ring for myself. So that's just the type of dude I know.

Is a fighting that that you kind of fought and really got off on him, but you actually personally like him, and you're like, damn, I wish it didn't have to be him. I wish you didn't have to beat him.

Herring l Harry.

Everybody thought I was beefed out with him because we were going back and forth for the fight, but.

And you killed him.

Yeah, But at the end of the day, I really like him, Like as an individual, he's like a super cool individual. He always like looking out for me before that. So I appreciate you man, thin like you answer he actually does. Actually, Yeah, we're cool.

What's something you learned outside the ring that's helped you the most inside the ring?

Some of I learned outside the ring that helped me the most. The smartest man will win. That's in any situation when it comes to business, m anything. The smartest man is always going to win, And I think as far as boxing, being being able to out smart my opponents is kind of what took me over the edge with everybody.

This took Ryan go see it a lot of people saying he's so com I mean the controversy aside with the Devin thing, right with the PD thing. He obviously we saw him beat Devon bad and he was at a weight where he was comfortable. So how does a Tank and Ryan fight play out if it was at one forty or weight that that Ryan was more comfortable.

I think it'll be a very different fight. I think.

I think Tank is like, he's a good fighter, but like the Ryan Garcia that he fought that night wasn't the same Ryan Garcia that Devin Haney fought.

And Ryan was feeling good and you actually seen when he fought Tank.

He didn't have no respect for Tank, Like he wasn't scared to Tank at all. It just was the fact that he wasn't able to take the punches that was coming back at him.

So I think it'll be a very different fight.

So you beat you beat William on July twelfth, Let's just say you beat Winning on July twelfth. Tank beats Roach, but then take goes to fight Jake Paul Tank. Don't want to call Stevenson fight? What does she call Stevenson do for his legacy and his resume?

Then I just keep working, keep working, fight the next best available opponents, and stay focused.

At the end of the day, the movement doesn't revolve around home. So whatever he got going on, he got going on.

If he says he don't want to fight me, he retires without fighting me, that's cool.

That's on his legacy. He got to live with that. But truthfully, for me, I fight the next available opponents.

I fight Lamont Roach, I fight maybe running back with an Edwin Della Santos or something. So honestly, I just, you know, just stay focused in I think my time is gonna come.

Would you be disappointed if you don't ever get that fight.

I would just be disappointed in the fact that the way he was talking, like the way, oh I'm going he on my list, here on my list, and like the way he kind of put out threats in a way like like somebody's supposed to be scared of that shit. It will be disappointed that we don't get to clash in the ring.

But if he go do that.

Fucking who's the next best? Start? Like is it a Ryan or to your female? Like where it would be still a big money fight.

I would fight all of them.

God, I've been saying I want to fight ti O for the longest, so TiO will be the perfect fight for me. But I think like boxing will forever evolve, so it's never gonna just start with one guy. So it may be a young superstar coming up. I like the Ameliono Vargus. I see superstar potential with him. Maybe one day in the sport, me and him could lock in and get a big fight going. So I just got to stay focused in and stay on my game.

Yeah, I don't want to hear none of them fighters say your call is overrated. I don't want to hear them fighter say your car can't knock nobody out. If you're not gonna get in the rings, I feel that you don't. Don't say none of that. If you're not gonna get in the.

Ring, you can't beat them.

Word.

We appreciate you for joining us this morning.

Brother, I appreciate y'all too, and have a successful camp because I know you're about to hit camp, right, sir, all right, well.

It's the Breakfast Club. It's she called Stevenson. Let's go wake that ass up in the morning.

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