By Jeff Aronow: Shakur Stevenson believes he’ll “massacre” super featherweight champions Oscar Valdez and Jamel Herring when he challenges them for their titles. Stevenson (16-0, 8 KOs) put himself in a position to challenge Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) for his WBO 130-lb title by winning the interim WBO title last Saturday with a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision against Jeremiah Nakathilia (21-2, 17 KOs) at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
The scores were 120-107, 120-107, 120-107. Nakathilia, 31, hit the deck in the fourth round after getting hit with a right-hand shot while he was legs while he was standing straight up.
With the win, Shakur, 23, could be challenging Herring next. That’s who Stevenson’s promoters at Top Rank want him to fight, but he prefers to face Oscar Valdez for his WBC 130-lb title.
Unfortunately, Top Rank already has plans for Valdez, having him defend against 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao next.
Fans want Stevenson to fight Miguel Berchelt next
As such, the options for Stevenson are limited to Herring unless he wants to take on former WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt.
On social media, there’s surprisingly a lot of interest from boxing fans in seeing Stevenson prove himself against Berchelt first before challenging for a world title against Valdez or Herring.
The fans feel that Nakathilia was too poor of a test for Stevenson to use him as a launching pad for a title shot. Berchelt would be a risky fight for Shakur, particularly if he’s got his weight right.
Shakur vowing to ‘Massecre’ Oscar Valdez & Herring
“He can’t beat me; I stand on that,” said Stevenson talking about Jamel Herring at the post-fight news conference last Saturday. “None of those fighters at 130 can beat me.
“When they get in there, it’s going to be a lot worse for them, like a massacre,” Shakur said when asked what a fight between him and Herring will be like.
“I’ve been in there with Jamel. Jamel is not as good as I am. Jamel is going in certain fights and is losing rounds. You have not seen me yet lose rounds in fights. I feel like I’m the best defensive fighter in boxing.
“I’m going to beat him [Oscar Valdez] the same way I’m going to beat Jamel,” Shakur said in pointing out that he’s going to “massacre” Valdez. “As I said, I’m ready for all the big dogs. So let’s get these big fights started,” Stevenson said.
It’s hard to take Shakur seriously with his rhetoric because he said the same type of things about what he would do to Nakathilia. With Stevenson’s low work rate and lack of power, he has no chance of knocking out Valdez, Herring, or any top-five fighter at 130.
Stevenson speaks like a knockout artist, promising to KO his opponents, but in reality, he’s a defensive fighter, a pot-shot artist with very little power.
Against Nakathilia, Stevenson threw single shots, and he would dart backward after throwing them. He looked scared at all times, and that prevented him from taking out his over-matched opponent the way he could have.
Stevenson: Herring is a “B-level fighter”
“Either way, I’m going to beat him,” Shakur said about Herring. “If I got to box, I’m going to beat him. If I have to step to him, I’m going to beat him. Jamel can’t fight; he’s a B-level fighter.”
Stevenson might be right about Herring being a “B-level” fighter, but that same label could also apply to himself. Shakur is clearly not an A-level fighter, given his lack of power, low work rate, and emphasis on not getting hit.
Stevenson is a purely defensive fighter and a weaker, less courageous version of Guillermo Rigondeaux. If you strip away Rigondeaux’s power and willingness to engage, you’re left with Shakur.
“I apologize to all my fans. I didn’t feel good tonight, but I did what I had to do to win. Thank you for all da support. I promise better for further fights to come,” said @ShakurStevenson after the fight.
