Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says Shakur Stevenson will face Frank Martin on the Formula 1 race weekend on November 16 in Las Vegas.
The November 16th date for the Shakur vs. Martin fight is what fans had been expecting, as there will be many casuals tuning in on ESPN to watch the Formula 1 race in Vegas.
Even if the viewers aren’t necessarily boxing fans, many of them will still stick around to watch the Shakur-Martin event.
The former two-division world champion Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) will be the heavy favorite going up against #4 Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) for the vacant WBC lightweight title stripped from champion Devin Haney, who has chosen not to defend against Shakur.
Martin, 28, has a puncher’s chance of winning if he can land his shots on Shakur, which won’t be easy to do because he is a defensive artist who is almost impossible to hit.
“Yes, we do. The fight is signed, and it will be the Thursday in November before the Formula 1 big race in Las Vegas. That fight is signed,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to Pro Boxing Fans on the Shakur Stevenson vs. Frank Martin fight.
Stevenson will be seeking his third division world title at 135, and he believes that by winning the WBC belt, he’ll get a big-money fight against Gervonta Davis.
That would seem highly unlikely, but Shakur is willing to invest time & effort, hoping that capturing the WBC lightweight title will lead to his bigger target. It obviously didn’t help Haney, who was ignored by Tank.
Arum states that heavyweight contender Jared Anderson will fight in the chief support on the card. He’s not saying who the highly ranked 23-year-old Anderson (16-0, 15 KOs) will fight, but it’s likely another older fighter, preferably someone with little power speed similar to Jared’s last opponent, 40-year-old Andriy Rudenko.
The bad experience Anderson had recently in his fight against 37-year-old Charles Martin, getting hurt badly twice, may have convinced Arum to keep him away from punchers until he can eventually set him up for a big-money fight against an aging top name like Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury or Deeontaay Wilder.
It won’t matter as much if Anderson loses to those guys because the money generated from the fight will make it worthwhile.
“The semi-main will be a big fight for [heavyweight contender] Jared Anderson,” said Arum.
It would be interesting to have Jared Anderson in the co-feature spot if Arum matches him against a quality fighter for a change instead of another old guy. If he puts Anderson in with another stiff, what’s the point of having him on the card?
