Turki Alalshikh’s ‘No Tom And Jerry’ Directive: How It Forces Shakur Stevenson To Engage Against William Zepeda

Paulie Malignaggi says Shakur Stevenson isn’t a runner, he’s a boxer, and puts the blame on fighters who are unable to cut off the ring. WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) has been booed in two out of his last three fights, which suggests that fans view his style of fighting as boring and lacking in entertainment value.

Why Fans Boo Shakur Stevenson

• Boring fighting style
• Arrogance
• Overhyped
• Wasted potential
• Unbearable bragging on social media

Stevenson is defending against William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) in a vital fight next month on DAZN PPV on Turki Alalshikh’s event at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. It’s a fight where Shakur is going to have to engage more because Turki has issued the directive that he doesn’t want any Tom and Jerry fights.

Malignaggi: Shakur Boxes, Not Runs

“People were saying, ‘He’s going to come down on Shakur,’” said Paulie Malignaggi to Fighthype about some fans believing Turki Alalshikh is going to be unhappy with Shakur Stevenson due to him being a known runner. “I don’t think Shakur runs. Shakur boxes.”

Fans disagree with Malignaggi. The way Shakur fights IS running, and the only time he doesn’t run is when he’s fighting weak ham & eggers like Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan, and Shuichiro Yoshino. The way Shakur fought Edwin De Los Santos was the definition of running, and the only reason he hasn’t looked quite as bad since is because he’s fought Padley and Harutyunyan. Those were gimmes.

Turki Alalshikh had the 18 x 18 foot ring size for his July 12th event in Queens because he doesn’t want fighters who run and fail to engage in Tom and Jerry fights. He’s trying to increase interest in boxing, not turn away fans to have them drift off into other sports for entertainment.

People won’t want to watch Turki’s events involving Shakur if he’s running all over the place when fighting good opposition like William Zepeda. If I were Turki, I’d have reduced the ring to a 16 x 16 to force engagement from fighters. We can’t have another Times Square fiasco where two of the fighters, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez, were paid millions and chose to run around the ring all night.

“He’ll step out of range. He’ll step back in range. He’s occupying space. He’s giving space. In between that, he’s working very intelligently,” said Malignaggi about Shakur. “That’s not running.

“As long as Turki Alalshikh understands the difference between that kind of boxing and what Haney and Scull did. That’s not boxing. That’s running. You might have won the fight if you’re Haney, but that’s running. Now, you’re sacrificing all entertainment just to steal the bag.”

Fans Dislike Shakur’s Style

Malignaggi isn’t going to be able to convince fans to believe that Shakur is not a runner, because they have eyes. He might think he’s not a runner, but fans do, and that’s what he’s failing to understand. It doesn’t matter that Pauli doesn’t see Stevenson as a fighter who fails to engage. The fans see him as boring, and they’re complaining. If he were the one paying Shakur’s purse, he’d be listening to the fans a little more.

What makes Shakur look so bad is the way he retreats three to six feet when his opponents look to land shots. He doesn’t stay in the pocket. It looks so bad to watch because Stevenson doesn’t have the confidence to stay in there the way normal fighters do.