By Max Schramm: The World Boxing Organization has ordered a purse bid for 130-lb champion Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson for August 9th at the WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This is a lot of excitement for nothing. There WON’T be a purse bid for this fight.
According to Dan Rafael, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says the Herring – Stevenson fight is already agreed, and a purse bid isn’t required.
“Per Bob Arum, the fight has been agreed to, and there is no need for a purse bid,” said @DanRafael1.
Arum is confident he’ll have the Herring vs. Stevenson fight finalized by the middle of this week for October.
It should be a good fight and an excellent test of the 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur (16-0, 8 KOs) to see if he’s as good as some think he is.
Stevenson, 24, recently defeated Jeremiah Nakathilia by a 12 round unanimous decision on June 12th to win the WBO interim super featherweight title.
While it wasn’t the greatest performance by Shakur because he was cautious of Nakathilia’s power, he did what he needed to do to earn the victory.
“I think before the ends of the year, probably in September,” said Bob Arum to iFL TV on the Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson fight.
“Probably in October in one of the dates we’re holding for it. We hope by the middle of next week we get that fight finalized,” said Arum.
This is the fight that Top Rank wanted, but it’s not the one that Herring, 35, was hoping for.
Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) wanted to battle WBC 130-lb champion Oscar Valdez in a unification fight that would have given a big payday. Instead, Herring will take on Stevenson in a tough fight that he could very likely lose.
Stevenson is a pure boxer with excellent defensive skills, which is difficult to hit cleanly with shots, particularly when he’s fighting cautiously, like in his last contest against Nakathilia.
The three-inch height advantage of the 5’10” Herring could present an obstacle to Stevenson, 5’7″, excelling in this fight. Still, you have to give Stevenson the edge due to his youth and boxing skills, but Herring could pull off the upset.
If he fights the way he did in his last title defense against Carl Frampton last April, Shakur is going to have fits.
Herring dominated the former two-division world champion, Frampton, dropping him in the fifth and sixth round to score a stopping in round six.
That was easily the best performance of Herring’s nine-year professional career, showing that he’s peaking at the perfect time for him to be defending against a slick fighter like Shakur Stevenson.
The power advantage would have to go to Herring because he’s able to generate a lot of energy into his shots when his opponents come into his wheelhouse.
Stevenson’s best wins of his short four-year professional career:
- Joet Gonzalez
- Jeremiah Nakathilia
- Toka Kahn Clary
- Christopher Diaz
Bob Arum believes he’s going to be able to turn Shakur Stevenson into a superstar, but it’s not going to be easy because he’s got a style that is oftentimes painfully boring to watch.
Arum used to rail about Guillermo Rigondeaux having a boring fighting style, but he’s actually exciting to watch compared to Stevenson, who doesn’t have a big punch like Rigo and is more of a pure boxer.
Floyd Mayweather Jr became a star despite having a similar defensive style as Shakur, but he has a ton of hand speed going for him.
Mayweather was fun to watch because he could land a shot with his speed, and get out of the way of the return fire. Stevenson isn’t blazing fast like Mayweather was during his best years.