How Pro Boxer Shakur Stevenson Spent His First $1M

[midtempo jazz music]

Hey GQ, this is Shakur Stevenson.

This is how I made, saved and spent my first million.

[midtempo jazz music]

My first world title fight, I fought Joet Gonzalez.

They told me before the fight how much I was gonna get.

It was a seven-figure number.

After the fight, the first day, I remember like,

yo where my check at, what my check?

Felt real good, not only winning the world title

in the sport of boxing,

but making as much money as I did.

You heard about how I made my first million.

Here's how I spent it.

[midtempo electronic music]

The first thing that I did was buy my mother a house.

And that was like 550,000.

Two of these right here, right?

[cash register dings]

It was a big house, six bedrooms with a movie room,

a little office in the front.

It was a nice, big house.

Of course, she was like excited about the house

and happy about it,

but my mother ain't really wanna move away from her home.

But then she also wanted to be closer to me.

She got me there and all the kids, so she be good.

My mother gave me life, and she put me into this world.

Just the way she raised me made me into the

person that I am today.

So ever since my first Powerade deal,

I've been making sure that my mother

and all my little brothers and sisters is straight.

I think that was my first priority.

[laser warbles]

[midtempo jazz music] ♪ Oh ♪

Next big purchase,

I spent like 85K on some jewelry.

[midtempo jazz music]

I really only bought a watch and chain.

Around 50 or 60 on the Rolex,

and then like 20 and 30 on the chain.

Rolex, because when I came up,

I used to hear rappers always say something

about a Rollie, Rollie, Rollie.

Yeah, so I'm like, okay, I wanna get me a Rollie, too.

I was kind of being a follower. [laughs]

Looking back on it now though,

I think jewelry is just,

I ain't the biggest fan of jewelry.

I'll rock it, but I'm just not the biggest fan of it

'cause it depreciates.

Then you gonna want another one, then another one.

And then come to find out.

now you done spent 300, 400,000 on jewelry,

or half a ticket on jewelry,

and I don't really think it's really worth it.

[laser warbling]

♪ Uh, uh, uh-uh ♪ [uptempo electronic music]

Next will be my Maybach,

150K on a Maybach, man. [laughs]

[cash register dings]

One of my friends was telling me Maybach is fire.

And I FaceTimed themm and I showed them the Maybach

and he like, man, get that, get that, get that.

And he encouraged me to get it.

So I got inside, I saw the seats was all the way back.

I'm like, man, I on the ride in the back of it.

Definitely, when you first get it,

first thing you you wanna do is go to the club.

You wanna go to the club and show off your Maybach.

Yeah, the Maybach was cool for a certain period of time,

but that's another thing, cars depreciate, too.

So it is like, I'm not even the biggest car fan no more.

I got me a nice bulletproof Cadillac

that I ride around in there.

I don't really want no other cars.

[laser warbling]

[midtempo hip-hop music]

And the rest went to my family.

[cash register dings]

The rest of that money just went to my everyday spending,

and also just making sure my family's straight.

All my little brothers and sisters,

it's seven boys and two girls,

so my little brothers got stuff for they schools,

clothes for school,

I remember spending a big bag on Christmas.

My little brothers, they kind of matured fast.

Now my little brother, he playing varsity football

and nine times outta 10, going to a good college next year.

My little cousin is actually one of the best boxer,

young boxers on the planet right now.

Like when we go to gyms, he'll spar with pros

that been boxing for years, and he's beating them up.

Honestly, I was his everyday sparring partner.

So to nowadays, like he's trying to turn it up on me

and he's pushing me at, at a high level,

so in a few years a lot of people gonna hear by his name,

Zaquin Moses.

[midtempo electronic music] [lasers warbling]

Thank you for having me, GQ.

I'm Shakur Stevenson, and this is My First Million.