Over the last several years, no weight class in the sport has engendered more debate, excitement and mainstream attention than the lightweight division. Stocked full of talented fighters with broad fanbases who are also willing to chase their big name contemporaries, the 135-pounders of the world have provided the boxing world with its most passionate debates—who is the best, who’s the most popular, who’s the biggest draw—some of its biggest nights, and much of its much-desired attention from the “casual” audience.
It was long assumed that Shakur Stevenson would be entering the fray at 135, and earlier this year, he formally moved up with a dominant victory over Shuichiro Yoshino. On November 16, he’ll have an opportunity to add a belt to his mantle as he faces Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC world lightweight title. Beyond the importance of the fight itself, the “moment” for Stevenson feels monumental from a marketing standpoint. Acquiring a title belt would of course give him extra marketing cache and added negotiating leverage, but Stevenson and his braintrust’s goal of breaking through the boundaries of intra-sports popularity seems to be coming to fruition as well.
Stevenson’s solid television ratings for his bouts on ESPN have long been an indicator that he could become, or was perhaps already, a mainstream star at least in relation to most of his contemporaries. His win over Oscar Valdez in 2022, for example, netted an average of 1.17 viewers on ESPN, which was 55% higher than the 2021 average of 752,000 viewers registered by Top Rank Boxing the previous year. Top Rank’s deal with ESPN can have tremendous advantages for its fighters, placing them in the largest sports content ecosystem in the world. Fights air on the back of large national football broadcasts, benefitting from the trickle-over effect in that respect, and due to the existing content deal, Top Rank fighters are far more likely to appear on Sportscenter either in highlight form or as a lower-third scroll item.
But Stevenson’s popularity has been bolstered by more than just his promoter’s plum broadcast deal. Much like his rival Gervonta Davis, Stevenson has also benefitted from the expertise of a music industry mogul who has helped provide a proximity to fame and a spot on guest lists that most other fighters do not get the luxury of. In 2019, Stevenson was surprisingly named one of the faces of Drake’s OVO clothing brand, and subsequently, has had the iconic OVO owl on his fight kits. Stevenson is managed by legendary music executive J. Prince, who had a major hand in the early days of Drake’s musical career, enabling Stevenson, who at the time was not yet a world champion, to rub shoulders with the most listened to artist on the planet at the time.
Prince has successfully worked with fighters like Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward in the past, providing guidance in terms of business acumen and lending his clout in the same way he is with Stevenson. In 2009, Mayweather signed a multi-million dollar deal with Reebok. Ward would go on to become the Jordan brand’s second ever endorsed boxer after Roy Jones Jr. It’s no coincidence that now, Stevenson finds himself in the rare company of fighters with shoe brand endorsements as well.
Last week, it was announced that Stevenson had signed a deal with Reebok, just the third fighter to be affiliated with the company in the last two decades after Mayweather and Amir Khan.
Stevenson joins Chicago Bears quarterback and LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese as the company’s newest signees, placing him in impressive company. The deal was reportedly aided along by Shaquille O’Neal, the new President of Reebok Basketball, and Allen Iverson, VP of the same department. O’Neal is a longtime boxing fan, one-time Celebrity Boxing participant, and a native of Stevenson’s hometown of Newark. A fun throughline is that O’Neal was also a client of sports powerbroker Leonard Armato when Armato landed a Puma deal for Oscar De La Hoya in the 1990s.
“Shaq and AI were pulling strings behind the scenes. I’m really cool and close with Shaq. I’ve known Shaq for a minute. We’ve got a great relationship and I know that he believes in me. And him being from Newark, I definitely know he’s got a lot to do with this,” Stevenson told Footwear News last week. “And I never met AI, but I’ve always been the biggest fan. I love how he set trends, I enjoy watching him set his own trends and be himself throughout his whole career. I love watching his interviews when he’s talking about practice. I’m a big fan of AI.”
Deals with major footwear brands are few and far between when it comes to professional boxers. Not every fighter who has landed one has been the biggest star in the sport necessarily, but a certain level of success and notoriety historically is assigned to those who get their initials on custom gear. In recent years, Canelo Alvarez and Anthony Joshua have been affiliated with Under Armour. Manny Pacquiao had a longstanding relationship with Nike. The aforementioned Mayweather and Khan with Reebok before Stevenson. Jones and Ward with Jordan Brand. De La Hoya with Puma. Riddick Bowe with Fila, before punching Larry Donald at a press conference while wearing his signature Fila gear. Prince Naseem Hamed with Adidas. Larry Holmes with PONY.
Stevenson has big shoes to fill, literally and figuratively.