LAS VEGAS – Edwin De Los Santos doesn’t usually pay much mind to the odds on his fights.
Shakur Stevenson is such a huge favorite entering their lightweight title fight Thursday night, though, that numerous gamblers have shown the Dominican southpaw their betting slips. An appreciative De Los Santos has promised to make them rich.
Most prominent sportsbooks have established Stevenson as more than a 10-1 favorite to defeat De Los Santos in a 12-round, 135-pound championship encounter ESPN will air from T-Mobile Arena. BetMGM lists Stevenson as a 14-1 favorite to win their fight for the vacant WBC lightweight crown.
“I’ve never really focused on betting and the odds,” De Los Santos told BoxingScene.com through a translator. “But I know people who are betting on me in this fight, and they’re gonna become millionaires.”
It hasn’t been merely Dominicans who’ve demonstrated support for their countryman by wagering on him.
“It’s been Dominicans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, people in general,” De Los Santos said. “They’ve shown me their little tickets from the bets.”
The unbeaten Stevenson’s handlers consider De Los Santos a dangerous opponent. The wide odds on their fight are based in large part on Stevenson’s status as one of the best boxers, pound-for-pound, in the sport and De Los Santos’ lone loss – an eight-round, split-decision defeat to William Foster III in January 2022 in Orlando, Florida.
Foster (16-1, 10 KOs, 1 NC), of New Haven, Connecticut was undefeated when he edged De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KOs) in a bout Showtime broadcast as part of its prospect series, “ShoBox: The New Generation.” Stevenson nevertheless called Foster “terrible” in an interview with BoxingScene.com and can’t understand how De Los Santos lost to him.
De Los Santos still doesn’t believe Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs), a two-weight world champion from Newark, New Jersey, is overlooking him.
“I think at some point he was underestimating me, but he realized that he’s not fighting against anybody,” De Los Santos said. “He noticed who he’s gonna fight against, and it’s not just anybody. Now he’s more focused.”
Stevenson, 26, and De Los Santos, 24, are set to fight for a WBC belt that became available when the Mexico City-based sanctioning organization designated Devin Haney as its 135-pound champion in recess. Haney (30-0, 15 KOs), the undisputed lightweight champion, moved up to the 140-pound division for his next fight, a shot at WBC super lightweight champ Regis Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) on December 9 at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Stevenson-De Los Santos will headline a two-bout broadcast by ESPN that is set to begin at 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT). The telecast will start with a 12-round, 130-pound championship clash in which Mexico’s Emanuel Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) will defend his WBO junior lightweight title against Brazil’s Robson Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs, 1 NC).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.