Read Shakur Stevenson’s words after O’Shaquie Foster dropped Emanuel Navarrete twice in the final round, as AKHi TV quoted them: “Hell of a fighter. He will never give me my credit, but I will be real tonight. He showed his level. That’s a challenge that will get me out of bed. Let’s do it whenever he’s ready. I will be here after his undisputed run.”
Fine words. Now put them next to the record, because AKHi did. When it was actually time to fight Foster, Shakur called him a bum. Foster had just beaten Shakur’s best friend, his homeboy Ray Ford — and Shakur had promised him the fight next if he did it. He gave him his word. He hopped in the ring and said “Let’s do it.” Then he backed out of his word and called the man a bum and undeserving. AKHi asked the question that still has no answer: if Foster is a bum, what does that make Ray Ford, the man he beat?
That is the ducking record, fact first. The praise only arrived after Foster did the one thing that made praise unavoidable — he unified against a pound-for-pound name with a country behind him, on the biggest stage of his career. Suddenly Foster is a great fighter and a challenge. The host’s hope is a simple one: that this challenge does not come with a $15 million asking price attached, the way the money talk killed the last big fight in this orbit — the same Saudi-money collapse Bob Arum was laughing about over Keyshawn Davis.
The timeline matters too. Shakur says he will be here AFTER Foster’s undisputed run. Foster is one belt away from that run being complete, and Lomachenko — who Shakur chased for years — is reportedly eyeing the same undisputed prize at 130, with tune-up talk in the air. Foster, per AKHi, already told Loma he will have to show he has still got it, so there will be no excuses either way.
Credit is not given in posts. Credit is given by signing to fight the man. Foster earned his position the hard way — in the ring, three belts deep, while the fight that was promised to him evaporated. If Shakur truly wants this challenge, the pen is right there. Until then, his own words sit on both sides of the record, and fans can read them in order.
Video credit: AKHi TV.
