It's my great pleasure to be joined on our podcast this week by none other
than the WBC Lightweight Champ of the World, chir Course, Stevenson chir Court.
Thank you ver very much for doing this. How you doing, bro?
I'm good, I'm good. I'm good. I'll sit back chicking in.
It's my birthday, so off, just stand back, William for the
fight now. I know you got you got ahead of me. I was
gonna say, first off, happy twenty seventh birthday as we tape this on
June twenty eighth. I'm sure obviously you've always wanted to spend a part of
your birthday being interviewed by me. I know that's a dream come true for
you. Probably not, but we're here to talk about your first lightweight title
defense. You'll be taking on Ardam Harttuny in July sixth in the top rank
ESPN main event at Prudential Center in your hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
How does a young man spend his twenty seventh birthday while also in training camp
a week before their fight. Uh, just chill out, just relaxing.
Honestly, birthdays is cool, but it's like I probably wouldn't even be doing
nothing for my birthday anyway, So I just say back, watchpotsaying, and
patiently wait for my moment. I got you. So this this is,
like I mentioned, this is gonna take place at the Prudential Center. It's
your hometown. I know it means a lot to you. You know,
you wear it on your sleeve. You're always talking about Newark and you've done
a lot of community work in the city and brought a lot of big time
boxing matches back there. It's gonna be your third fight there in your last
four fights, your fourth overall in that building, Prudential Center. You fought
in Las Vegas, New York, Atlanta, Atlantic City. Well, what
does it mean to you that to have fights in front of your people,
in front of your hometown in that kind of arena. It means everything to
me. Own. I hope that everybody comes out to support. I know
that my promotional company is not trying to promote the fight properly because I'm not.
I had to resign with them, So I just pray that the same
people that have been coming out for me keep coming out for me and just
show up and enjoy the show. Well, you touched on it when you
say they're not promoting the fight, right, I mean, from my way
of looking at as a media person, which is sort of one of the
things they promote towards to get media attention. It seems like they have because
they've helped set up this interview between you and me to help promote your fight.
So can you tell me what you mean by that? I mean,
usually it's just more. You know, I've been working with them for years,
so you know, it's not just about the interviews that I'm doing,
which I feel as though we've been working for a long time, and it's
just more. I ain't gonna get into detail. I ain't. It is
what it is. I ain't chipping on it. I just got to show
up and do my job. So I was gonna get to this a little
bit later in the interview, but since you brought up the whole free agency,
we'll get to the fight in a minute for sure. But like you
said, it is your last fight with your promotion contract with Top Rank.
You've been with him your entire career. Seems to me from the outside looking
in, you've done good business together. You've won world championships in three different
weight classes. You've unified titles in one of those weight classes. You've made
millions of dollars. They've put on some big fights for you. But now
that the free agency is upon you following this matchup, is it all a
distraction to you? Nah? I don't really care for honestly, the free
agency and everything where that matters after the fight. Right now, we got
to stay focused on what's what's the ahead of us, and the main thing
is come in and they're prepared and ready to put on the performance. So
nah, I don't care for it. It is what it is, not
a dishrection at all. Okay, glad to hear that. As I mentioned,
you have won the titles in the three wheel with three weight classes.
You have beaten some notable opponents Oscar Valdez, Concasyle, Jamel Herring. There
are many people shakor you know this, you see it. They talk about
you as being one of the most talented boxers in the whole sport, a
guy that's going to be on that tund for poundless for many years to come.
But we got to go back for just a quick minute and look at
your last fight. That's when you won this WBC vacant lightweight title against Edwin
de Los Santos in November. You won a decision, but you'd be the
first to admit this. I think that was not a good fight for anybody
to watch. He barely threw any punch as he turned one of the most
dismal performances I've ever seen in almost twenty five years of covering boxing. I
know you did not seem happy after that fight, even though you got to
win. Were you disappointed? How disappointed were you in the way that fight
went, the fan reaction to the fight. I know, I'm sure you're
happy you won the title, but what about that other part of it?
The other part of it. It is what it is. At the end
of the day, I can't do nothing about it. But at the end
of the day, we gotta also take recognition and understand that Dela Tantos is
not an easy fight, and hopefully I'm hoping that somebody gives home an opportunity,
because now the world can see that that's not a guy that you just
go in there and annihilate, and especially like somebody with me that I got
one hand in the fight. So now I'm fighting this good fighter that has
good defensive abilities and got power, and it's a tricky fighter with good skills.
I'm fighting home with one hand. Uh yeah, I was mad at
myself, But now that I went back and like rewatched it and understand like
everything that was going on, I'm not mad and I'm happy that I can
go pull that off on a bad night. And I don't think that there's
a lot of fighters that y'all put at the top level that will fight him.
We already seen Pitbull CRUs turned him down in a fight. You wonder
why he would turn him down. But take a fight with right somebody that
Edwin Della Santos knocked out. I think that is just a game that's not
really being played fear because I think like the outsiders, they don't understand everything
that goes on into like the sport of boxing. But when y'all sit there
and y'all say, oh, y'all didn't like to fight, okay, cool,
y'all probably didn't. But it's some people that understand boxing that did like
the fighters, and the people that understand boxing that did like to fight.
They like chests. It was more so a chess match with two boxers that's
more defensively and one got one hand in there, so now I'm handicapped and
making it work. So honestly I feel the stuff. I'm going back on
it. I'm not even mad at the performance no more. I'm mad at
the public. I'm more so mad at the public whole. Who I go
out there and I'll go perform night at the night, years and years of
me putting hands on people and beating people love, and then you have one
off night and then everybody just say fuck you. And if that's how they
feel about me, if it's fuck you to me, it's fuck you to
them too. And people may say, oh, well, these are people
who pay money to see you fight and they do this, and okay,
understood. But at the end of the day, I'm a man and if
anybody anybody, I don't give a fuck who it is, whether it's money
involved or money and not involved. If anybody say fuck me, I'm gonna
say fuck them too. So well, that's what it is, and that's
I understand where you're coming from. I just uh, for the point though,
I don't think people are holding it against you for the rest of your
career. I think it's understandable they may have been upset in that one particular
night. But it's not that they don't have any interest in seeing a talent
like your self perform in the future. But you mentioned about being honey,
the logic, the logic that they've runned me. Oh, now, now
I'm a runner. But how many fights have I stood in the pocket?
No? I get it, I get it. You mentioned this a pocket
fighter. If we're being real, I want to just you said you were
a handicap because you had one hand. What was the you had? Was
it a shoulder injury? If I'm not mistaken, No, the shoulder was
my right shoulder went fucking. The one hand that I got, I still
was using, but it was the hand was my left hand got you?
Okay, all right, So that that's in the past. I just wanted
to get your reaction to that. But now you obviously have this fight coming
up against Hartitunian. Look, you were a twenty sixteen silver medalist in the
Olympics. He was a twenty sixteen UH bronze and bronze medalist in the Olympics
for Germany. You fought in different weight classes. He fought at light welterweight,
about one hundred and forty pounds. You were fighting obviously down in about
one hundred and twenty three pounds, so you're in you're in a different division.
But were you familiar with him from the amateurs at that time or do
you remember seeing him perhaps in the Olympics. Yeah, I seen him.
I seen I've seen a fight this tall Cuban kid from Ajibbajan. H No,
he's really from Cuba, but he was training. He went to Ajibajan
see and I wouldn't say he lost, but yeah, I seen him him,
I'll do. So what is your sort of assessment of his abilities and
what he brings? Uh, obviously you were separated by a lot of weight
back then. Now you're obviously you know, at the same weight class.
But what did you What is your sort of scattering report on Hartitunian. I
think he's a real good, solid fighter. I think that uh he tried
to press you, pressure you with his legs, got real good feet where
know how to like bag out, got a nice little hot guard. Honestly,
I just don't think he sings anything like me. So the one time
he did step up and fight a more recognizable kind of name was a pretty
good fight. He had the fight with Frank Martin, who just recently challenged
Tank Davis for the WBA lightweight belt and did get knocked out in that fight.
But Frank Martin was able to win a decision against Hartitunian. He did
score a knockdown against him in the in the final round, in the twelfth
round of their fight. Did you see that fight and what did you What
was your impressions of Hertitunian's performance in that one time he did step up against
a name opponent. Honestly, I thought he was winning the fight. I
thought, uh, it was a pickup fight. I still think it was
a case where it should have either been a drawer or I ain't gonnay,
I ain't gonna say or it could have win either. I think that the
problem was he took a knee, because I ain't even gonna say you got
knocked down. Let's like we're gonna really I analyzed, like the actual fights.
It wasn't like a punch that Frank Martin hit him with that heard him,
or he took a knee. I wanted to say from fatigue, Okay,
that's that's kind of what I saw from watching the fight and when he
took that knee from fatigue. I think that kind of gained the decision away
on being that he's fighting in Dallas or was it Veggies. I believe it
was in certainly was not in his home area. Let's put it like that.
I forget what it was. The B side he was, Let's just
say he was the B side right from being the B side taking the knee
in what the twelfth round? It is the worst thing that you can do,
especially in a fight with it seems like you're ahead, but it's like
giving up some moments where Frank is doing his thing too. So honestly a
good fighter, I won't take nothing away from home but his lovels. Yeah,
I understand that. I mean, I think if you looked at it
and you analyzed your boxing ability compared to is, I would think that you
think that. I'm not going to say you think this is an easy fight
because he does have that amateur background. He did have a good performance against
Frank despite the loss. But you figure that you are just a far superior
boxer to him overall in terms of the way you'll be able to handle and
get the win. Yeah, I think that I'm just levels above home and
still got to go out there improve it. So on July sixth is the
date. That's the day we go out there and show who I am.
I wanted to go back real quickly to your your discussion about your your POTENTI
you know your impending free agency. I've seen some videos or saw some of
the commentary from Matt room Box promoter Eddie Hearn. He's talked you up,
talked about how great of a young fighter you are. Thinks he said,
he thought you're not being promoted the best, and so I'm sure he'll be
a suitor among others when you do hit the free agency, when you do
decide where you're going to sign, whatever offers are presented to you, What
are you looking for in your next deal in terms of a promoter. Is
it just strictly the money. Is it about the opportunities and who they have
that you can make a match for you against. What are you what are
you thinking about in that sense? Or is it something else I didn't mention.
I think big fights is mainly the thing that I'm looking for. I
want to be in big fights. Could I want a chance to proose it
the word to show who I am as a fighter, but honestly, it's
hard to even think about that kind of stuff with what's going on right now.
And I'm trying to like stay within the moment and focus on Arnum.
So we could talk about it, but it ain't here yet. I mean,
you know, it'll be better interview me at the Artam fight, and
they're not no strategically, tell you, well, we can do that.
We can definitely get together after this. We can get together after the fight,
all right, So I just want to ask you this then. I
mean, you know, I know you're very confident in beating Ardam in the
fight on July sixth, uh and so I know, look, this is
an important fight because it's a title defense, and obviously your perfect record is
on the line, and anytime you go into a match, it's important.
But I don't think anybody looking at this considers that a so called big fight.
So I wonder, from your perspective, what is the big fight?
Like I think? You tell me if I'm wrong. A lot of fans
would love to see chakor Stevenson lockhorns with Tank Davis, see you lockhorns with
uh Lomachenko also would be a unification fight. Obviously, there's a lot of
conversations right now that Tank and Lomachenko, their teams are negotiating with each other
for a fight later this year. Well, what what what is your big
fight is? Yes, sir, he is. To my knowledge, they're
making the Tank Davis Limachenko fight. That's what I reported about. I take
it you think that I see you laughing about that. What's uh? You
tell me what you think about that? Uh. I mean, it's business
at the end of the day. So I understand it and I get it.
But my issue is when you know, guys like saying go and do
interviews and say, oh, I'm on this side, and I'm basically saying
that I'm on a certain side and that's why the fight with me can't get
done right now, or he says things like that and then doing business with
somebody with Top Ring after saying like they wouldn't do business with Bob Aaron,
and Bob Aaron is the guy holding the fight back. But I mean,
clearly they ready to get in business with let me Chenko. So I think
it's just a lot of camp that's been putting out there. Well, it
seems to me that you certainly with your fight that you have coming up right
now, that you would be in if you win, be in a great
position to fight the winner of a potential fight between Tank and Lomachenko. I
assume it would interest you know, come on now for sure, But like
I said, we never know until it gets here, so I'm taking things
one step at a time. But I think that people just contradict themselves a
lot when they start talking about eth the size of the streets and street signs
and all they these kind of things that prevent fights from happening. But clearly
a lot of people is willing to make break and getting business with each other.
The winning time is right. Well, you're right about that because Tanking
Lomar with different companies, so they are going to work together if they're able
to make the fight. So hopefully that that's good for everybody in boxing,
you know yourself and all the other fighters that want to fight other top guys
from different companies. But first you got to take on your your challenger and
Artem Cartertonian Shakur. I wish you the best luck in the fight, and
I'd like to say happy birthday, my friend. Thank you. Matt