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Does Shakur Stevenson deserve all the hate online? Terence Crawford and Claressa Shields believe he doesn’t—after all, he did his job and won the fight. See, the thing is, ‘Sugar’ was on thin ice after his fight against Edwin De Los Santos back in November last year. The fans became judge and jury and branded him boring.

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They did have a point! Stevenson avoided action, and opted for a safer approach to win the fight on points. And the same thing happened during the Artem Harutyunyan fight last weekend, and people again erupted with criticism for the Newark native. But isn’t that what he is supposed to do—win the fight? Regardless, ‘Bud’ Crawford and ‘T-Rex’ Shields came to his rescue!

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Shakur Stevenson accepts advice from Terence Crawford and Claressa Shields 

After, what seems like the entire community, turned on Shakur Stevenson, criticizing him for his performance, Terence Crawford hopped on X to write, “F**k em little bro @ShakurStevenson let [them] know how you feel”, since they aren’t sitting quiet about how they feel about Stevenson.

It’s worth mentioning that Crawford and Stevenson share a deep brotherly bond, which was oh so obvious through the support that they have shown each other over the years. Nonetheless, soon afterwards came Claressa Shields, one of Shakur’s biggest supporters—she often calls the young boxer her younger brother. 

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So, there was no way in internal damnation—she was about to watch her lil bro roasted on the internet. She hit back, writing, “Y’all k**l me on this internet. What [makes] it ok for y’all to have opinions, statements, insults, post how something made you feel”, but Stevenson can defend himself. Well, Shields and Crawford would be related to know that Stevenson has taken their advice.

In a barrage of tweets on the platform, Stevenson looked actively defending himself against a tsunami of critics. One of his tweets read, “Bro everybody opening [their] mouth [with an] opinion let me tell n***as how I feel f**k it”. However, Stevenson has something else to say right after beating Harutyunyan.

Stevenson feels like the most hated man on the planet

The disappointment among the fans wasn’t a surprise, really. The booos began during the fight. The rowdy crowd of Stevenson’s hometown came to see an action packed fight. Instead, they got a running competition, with Stevenson and Harutyunyan fighting in spurts. During the in-ring interview post the fight, Stevenson attributed the booos to his opponent.

However, that changed swiftly when fans took to social media—it was a knockout they wanted. So, Stevenson responded, writing, “Most hated man in the sport. I appreciate yall for it thank u.. Much respect to Artem he came in shape and did what he could last night. I respect it..” Disappointed with the reactions from the fans, Stevenson gave props to the people who supported him, and wrote, “Tell your fav fighters [to] jump in the ring since I’m not like that I’ll be ready”.

What fate awaits Shakur Stevenson? He is officially a free agent now, after declining a $15 million offer for five fights from Top Rank. He might get bigger fights, but given all the criticism, the question is, who will agree to face him? Only time will tell! Until then, why didn’t you let us know what you think about Stevenson’s future?

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Written by

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Sudeep Sinha

4,781 Articles

Sudeep Sinha is a Golf Writer at EssentiallySports, covering the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the storylines around the sport's biggest events and names. He previously spent over two years writing in the Boxing department, where his fight-night coverage was featured on Sports Illustrated, Daily Mail, and Yahoo Sports, including his reporting on Ryan Garcia's career arc. On the golf beat, Sudeep covers tour news, player form, and the season-long storylines that shape the men's and women's game, from majors to the ongoing shifts in how professional golf is structured. That same appetite for detail that made his boxing coverage stand out now shows up in how he breaks down a swing change or a schedule shakeup for hardcore and casual fans alike. Outside work, he splits his time between reading, cycling, and following combat sports.

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Snigdhaa Jaiswal

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