Shakur Stevenson (gold gloves) reacts against Artem Harutyunyan of Germany (red gloves) during their WBC Lightweight World Title fight at Prudential Center on July 6, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey.
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Boxer Shakur Stevenson is mad about everyone calling him boring.
Over the weekend, in his hometown of Newark, the 27-year-old lightweight fought major underdog Artem Harutyunyan and cruised to an easy victory. However, what should’ve been a celebratory time for the young fighter has turned a bit sour, because his performance is being criticized once again for being lacking in the excitement department. You see, Stevenson is a defensive mastermind, and takes boxing’s thesis — hit and don’t get hit — a little too seriously for some fans to stomach.
During his last fight, versus Edwin de Los Santos, neither fighter landed double-digit punches in any round — and during his fight with Harutyunyan, Shakur’s corner wanted him to be more aggressive. There’s even footage of fans leaving the Prudential Center before the fight finished, with the Newark native winning in a unanimous decision.
Former boxer and current analyst Tim Bradley criticized Stevenson for not listening to his corner on Saturday night (July 6), saying, “The only thing he didn’t do was stop him because he got into an argument with his corner. That right there, you got to fix.”
Emotions boiled over yesterday, as Stevenson took offense to Mase saying he’s not a fan of his boxing style during a segment of his sports talk show It Is What It Is. Shakur took to X and began ranting about the rapper and cultural commentator, and responding to users who engaged with him. He went on well into the night with It Is What It Is, even responding on their Instagram account, with the two hosts talking about the ongoing drama on their show this morning.
Here’s rundown of the action so far.
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Mase Calls Shakur’s Fighting Style Boring
During a segment on Mase and Cam’ron’s sports show It Is What It Is about who the young boxer should fight next, Mase had this to say:
“I don’t wanna see Shakur fight, I’m just gonna be honest. No disrespect to Newark, but I don’t wanna see Shakur fight nobody… For him to be hanging out with Terence Crawford and Andre Ward, there’s absolutely no way that he’s fighting the way he’s fighting.”
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Shakur Responds by Calling Mase’s Rap Career a ‘Failure’
Replying to a clip of the Harlem rapper-turned-sports personality, Stevenson shared his thoughts on Mase’s rap career, saying, “Same way I felt ‘bout his rap career n—a more famous for his podcast then [sic] his failed career.”
This was the beginning of a meltdown that lasted hours with Mase and Cam responding during this morning’s show.
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Shakur Calls Mase a ‘Fake Pastor’
The young boxer replied to a tweet poking fun at Mase being an ordained minister. In 2021, he was named the pastor of Atlanta’s Gathering Oasis Church.
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Mase Gets No Respect Like Rodney Dangerfield
Shakur refuses to show respect to Mase or whoever else he feels is disrespecting him.
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Shakur Assures Fans He Isn’t Crashing Out
X users peeped what was happening and pleaded with Stevenson to put his phone down, but he doubled down and continued to rant.
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The Shakur Era
Stevenson is 22-0 in his boxing career, with 10 of those wins coming by knockout. Stevenson reminds everybody, style of fighting aside, he still hasn’t been beaten. It’s hard to discredit a fighting strategy if its been working for him.
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Shakur Sends a Warning to ‘It Is What It Is’
Stevenson is feeling a type of way in regards to how Cam and Mase talk about him on their show, warning them that he’s with whatever.
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Stevenson Only Likes One Mase Song
It’s safe to say Shakur isn’t a fan of Mase’s music.
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Shakur Calls Mase a Casual
As pointed out in the intro, there’s a large section of boxing fans and analysts alike that think Stevenson is a boring boxer to watch.
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Cam & Mase Never Stepped Foot Inside a Ring
Shakur wants to see the two Harlem legends to get involved in the celebrity boxing circuit. Only problem is, Cam and Mase aren’t that washed up or desperate yet.
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Shakur Doesn’t Think Cam & Mase Are Legends
Cam is most certainly a rap legend and Mase is borderline, just based off his contribution to mainstream rap. He’s definitely a Harlem legend, regardless.
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Bud Crawford Cosigns Shakur’s X Rant
Shakur’s mentor gives him his blessing to continue voicing his feelings on the social media platform.
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Bud Crawford Shows Disappoint in Cam & Mase
Crawford continued to voice his support for Stevenson, and is saddened by what he considers the culture’s crabs-in-a-barrel mentality.
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Shakur Calls Mase a ‘Momentary Rapper’
Seems like Stevenson’s not a fan of Mase’s debut album Harlem World.
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Shakur Calls ‘It Is What It Is’ Boring
Stevenson says he’s more of a fan of Gillie’s and Wallo’s podcast. Maybe he’ll be a guest on there soon.
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Shakur Is Down for an ‘It Is What It Is’ Appearance
The streets need this to happen. That would be box office entertainment, right there.
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Stevenson Claims He’s a Better Rapper Than Mase
And he doesn’t even rap.
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‘It Is What It Is’ Responds
The podcast took to social media to give the fighter Mase’s resume and to say they aren’t the only ones to call his style of boxing boring.
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‘It Is What It Is’ Posts Video Showing Fans Leaving Shakur’s Fight Early
The podcast reposts a video a fan in attendance sent out on social media of fans leaving the fight before the 12th and last round was about to begin.
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Cam & Mase Claim They Make More Money Than Shakur
The two rappers go on a rant about who has the most in their bank accounts and say they’re doing a pod because they’re getting paid handsomely to do so.
This is classic Cam’ron right here.
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Shakur Puts ‘It Is What It Is’ to Sleep
The podcast posts a skit of Cam, Mase, and Stat Baby falling asleep while watching Shakur’s fight over the weekend.
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Shakur Pokes Fun at the Rappers’ Response
Stevenson gets back on X to continue the back and forth, calling the two rappers “old.”
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Cam & Mase Share Clip of Rolly Romero Saying the Same Thing They Did
It Is What It Is posts a clip of boxer Rolly Romero talking about the reason why Shakur doesn’t get pay-per-view fights is because he puts everyone to sleep.
To be fair, Shakur responded to this clip last year, saying Romero was upset about Stevenson kicking him out of a gym. He also later called his fellow boxer a “bum.”