Shakur Stevenson: record, next fight and profile →
After reluctantly giving up his WBO and WBC super featherweight titles due to his failure to make weight, Shakur Stevenson officially made the move to the lightweight division. In his first official bout above the 130-pound limit, Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) proved that he belonged by stomping
Shuichiro Yoshino’s smile could be seen a mile away. Of course, the 31-year-old Japanese native knew good and well that Shakur Stevenson would be a handful to deal with but was still confident in his ability to take care of business. Fast forward approximately 15 minutes later and there was nothing to smile about.
Errol Spence Jr. is still holding firm to his IBF, WBC, and WBA welterweight titles. But while he continues in his attempts to hammer out a deal that would see him take on WBO champion, Terence Crawford, the pound-for-pound star is enjoying his time as a promoter.
Shuichiro Yoshino wasn’t short on confidence heading into his showdown against Shakur Stevenson. Although the former Olympic silver medalist has shown incredible skills throughout his career, the Japanese native was convinced that once he landed flush, that’ll be all she wrote. But while the 31-year-old believed that he held a significant power advantage, it was Stevenson who sat him on the seat of his pants.
NEWARK, New Jersey – Shakur Stevenson wanted to emphatically finish Shuichiro Yoshino on Saturday night. Stevenson expressed some disappointment following his sixth-round, technical-knockout win because referee Allen Huggins halted their 12-round lightweight bout when Yoshino was still standing at Prudential Center. A faster, sharper Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) landed a right-left combination just before Huggins decided Yoshino had taken enough punishment during a fight in which Newark’s Stevenson sent him to the canvas once apiece in the second and fourth rounds.
Shakur Stevenson is a star. He’s an attraction. He’s an elite, world-class fighter. And he reminds me as much of a young Floyd Mayweather Jr. as anyone has since Floyd himself. So before anyone misconstrues and calls me a “hater” or worse, reread those lines.
2023 has been off to a great start but, if it’s been missing one thing so far, that thing is unpredictability. The chalk has been strong through the first quarter of the year. Matchmaking has been on point, giving fans high quality fights that went largely the way they were expected to in terms of results but providing drama along the way. This past Saturday, we got more of the good matchmaking…and we got some serious shakeups in two divisions.
NEWARK, New Jersey – Shakur Stevenson was surprised by a post-fight message from Devin Haney that was delivered to him in the ring Saturday night by ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna.
By Corey Erdman - Four days prior to his bout against Shuichiro Yoshino, Shakur Stevenson tweeted “y’all can’t push y’all narrative on me.” The cryptic message, or “subtweet” in modern parlance, could have been interpreted in many ways. High profile boxers such as Stevenson spend their days reading theories about who they might fight next, who they’re afraid of, who they could and could not beat, what they can and cannot do well enough in the ring.
Undefeated former two-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) secured his shot at the WBC lightweight title with a commanding sixth-round TKO against Japanese puncher Shuichiro Yoshino (16-1, 12 KOs) Saturday night in front of a hometown crowd at Newark's Prudential Center.