Although Shakur Stevenson is only 25 years of age, the former Olympic silver medalist has continued to leave an indelible mark in the pugilistic sport.
Recently, after truncating the world title reign of Oscar Valdez earlier this year, Stevenson attempted to defend his unified throne against Robson Conceicao in front of his hometown crowd in Newark, New Jersey. Nevertheless, after embarking on a grueling weight cut to make the 130-pound limit, Stevenson was left stupefied as he was unable to shed the final few pounds from his growing frame.
Apoplectic in his inability to make weight, Stevenson effortlessly outboxed his man before declaring that his showdown against Conceicao would be his last at 130-pounds. While he was initially embarrassed, Stevenson has learned to move past his shortcomings. With a long list of contenders and world champions ready, willing, and able to take him on in the lightweight division, Stevenson shrugs off his potential new foes. In his view, though he’s never officially competed at 135-pounds, considering his track record, Stevenson believes that he’ll assimilate to life at lightweight just fine.
“I got a belt at 126, went up to 130. Did what I was supposed to do there,” said Stevenson on Instagram live. “Now we at 135 and it’s gonna be the same thing. Ain’t nothing gonna change.”
As Stevenson begins stomping his way through his newfound weight class, his name has been innately linked to some of the division’s best, including Devin Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Gervonta Davis.
Admittedly, Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) has openly confessed that competing against bigger men could provide him with a bevy of issues. But, in any event, the 25-year-old star is anxious to prove his worth. In a perfect world, Stevenson would thoroughly enjoy skipping to the front of the line as he eyes a showdown against undisputed king, Devin Haney. Still, regardless of highly anticipated matchups against Haney, Lomachenko, and countless others, Stevenson confidently claims that at some point, he’ll protrude to the top of the lightweight division.
“135 bout to be mines.”
