Floyd Mayweather criticizes Bob Arum's Top Rank for making Shakur Stevenson the B-side against Oscar Valdez
Floyd Mayweather Jr. paved the way for boxers to leave their promotional partners and take more control of their careers. 'Money' has applauded the current generation of elite talents that are choosing to follow in his footsteps.
The hugely exciting Shakur Stevenson is another young athlete who has impressed the former five-weight world champion. However, Mayweather believes that the 25-year-old isn't being treated correctly by his promoters.
Bob Arum's Top Rank are the promoters of the young American and they were also the promoters of 'Money' in his early career.
While doing an interview with FightHype.com, Mayweather said:
"Shakur Stevenson, a silver medalist, just fought a fighter [Oscar Valdez] and looked unbelievable, and the fighter that he fought, he's a hell of a fighter also. But guess what, Top Rank showed you how much respect they got for Shakur, they made Shakur the B-side and made his opponent the A-side. They weren't even selling Shakur Stevenson apparel."
Stevenson is now a two-weight world champion with the aim of becoming the Undisputed Super Featherweight Champion. The 25-year-old defeated his latest opponent via unanimous decision in a spectacular display.
The young boxer is considered a future star in the sport, which is why the former 50-0 fighter believes he should be marketed a lot better by Top Rank.
Watch Floyd Mayweather's full interview here:
Floyd Mayweather's work as a boxing promoter
Floyd Mayweather is one of the biggest names in the sport of boxing, which has helped his promotional company reach huge success. Arguably his biggest star is Gervonta 'Tank' Davis.
Mayweather Promotions is regarded as one of the biggest businesses in the boxing industry. It has acquired in excess of $350 million, according to their website. To further this, the promotional company has raised over $1 billion in pay-per-view earnings.
However, it looks as though the former champion may not be able to keep hold of his biggest asset. In an interview with FightHype.com, Mayweather responded to criticism he's faced as a boxing promoter:
"Everyone's saying, 'We wanna fight Tank, we wanna fight Tank, we wanna fight Tank.' I'm not talking about Shakur [but] I'm talking about everybody in general. If I'm not the best at what I do [promoting], then why is everybody talking about my fighter?"
After defeating Rolando Romero in May, Gervonta Davis publicly stated that he wanted to leave Mayweather Promotions. This was also fuelled by criticism that the fighter's resume isn't as emphatic as it could be.
Mayweather Promotions has come under a lot of heat due to Davis' contests seemingly being against fighters also under the wing of Mayweather Promotions.