By Allan Fox: Shakur Stevenson plans on making it tough on knockout artist Edwin De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KOs) to try and land his big power shots on him on November 16th when the two fighters battle for the vacant WBC lightweight title on ESPN at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
De Los Santos recently said that Shakur (20-0, 10 KOs) isn’t a big puncher, which is a fact because if he had power, his KO percentage wouldn’t be a lowly 50.
However, Shakur took issue with that, pointing out that he knocked out his last opponent, little-known Shuichiro Yoshino, which proves he is a big puncher. Knocking out Yoshino proves nothing. That guy would be easy work for anyone in the top 15, so Shakur shouldn’t start having delusions of grandeur just because he knocked him out.
Obviously, if Shakur had power, he’d have many more fans than he does, as they prefer to watch fighters who can punch have an entertaining style and don’t employ the pull-back move that he uses in all his fights.
Hopefully, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist Stevenson does come to fight because there will be a lot of upset fans if the bout fails to live up to expectations.
Luckily for fans, Top Rank is bringing some insurance that they aren’t disappointed with the event by including WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete defending against Robson Conceicao in the chief support fight.
Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) is a brawler and will be coming to knockout Conceicao, who lost twice during his career in decision defeats to Shakur and Oscar Valdez. Conceicao has never been knocked out, so it’ll be interesting to see if Navarrete can be the first to stop him.
Stevenson vs. De Los Santos card will be shown on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ on November 16th at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.
Shakur wants De Los Santos to try to land
“Two things. He’s never been in the ring with me to know how hard I punch. I done heard that plenty times in my career, and then people get in the ring and say different,” said Shakur Stevenson to Millcity Boxing when told that Edwin De Los Santos said that he couldn’t punch.
“My last opponent [Shuichiro Yoshino] told me I couldn’t punch either. We got him up out of there in six rounds. Another thing is when he talks about this knockout stuff. You got to be able to hit somebody to knock them out. Tell him to hit me.”
That sounds like Shakur is planning on fighting defensively like he always does, and it could result in a really boring fight like many of his others. Stevenson’s fights against these guys were unwatchable due to his safety-first style:
Oscar Valdez
Joet Gonzalez
Robson Conceicao
Jeremiah Nakathila
Carlos Ruiz
Shakur needs to be more aggressive in the ring and not rely solely on his defense. Top Rank wants to make a star out of him, but it’s impossible for them to do that with how he fights.
That’s why he was beaten by Robeisy Ramirez in the Olympics. Shakur ran from the talented Cuban Robeisy the entire fight and cried in a strange, tearless manner afterward when he lost the fight.
“He’s definitely a real good fighter,” said Shakur about De Los Santos. “He’s got great movement. I consider him a boxer/puncher. He sets up his shots. He’s reckless, and sometimes he does get out of hand, but it works in his favor.
“I thought he looked good in both fights [Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela & Joseph Adorno]. He stopped Rayo. That was another southpaw, and he stopped him. Rayo is a solid fighter. Joseph Adorno he’s definitely a solid fighter, and he outboxed him in that fight.”
It’s unclear what fight Stevenson was watching because De Los Santos didn’t box Adorno & Rayo. He was in seek & destroy mode from the get-go, bouncing huge shots off the chin of the two, trying to take their heads off. Adorno went the distance with De Los Santos despite taking a lot of punishment.
The way that De Los Santos obliterated Rayo in three rounds was impressive, as he nailed him with left hands and right hooks that had him reeling from the first round. Rayo wanted to slug with De Los Santos, and it made it an exciting fight for as long as it lasted.
“He’s [De Los Santos] is the best available option, with everyone saying no,” said Shakur. “My prediction is I’m going to shine regardless. My energy isn’t going to switch. The same person he’s been calling is the same person he’s going to see come fight night.”
Shakur isn’t being entirely open about his comment on De Los Santos being his best available option. The truth is, Stevenson could have fought for the undisputed lightweight championship against Devin Haney, but turned down the 75-25 split that was offered to him.
Then on top of that, he lowballed Frank Martin, and not surprisingly, he turned it down, feeling he could get more money elsewhere.
“Right now, the focus is Edwin De Los Santos. If I don’t get rid of him, there’s nobody else. So, I can’t give you a bunch of names right now. Right now, it’s just De Los Santos. That’s all I’m thinking about. Eat, sleep, breathe Edwin De Los Santos. He’s going to see me come November 16th,” said Shakur.
Stevenson says Frank Martin smart
“He’s smart. Not to get his a** whipped now,” said Shakur about Frank Martin. “It may be too early in his career to get his a** whooped. Like I say what Floyd said. How guys are going to sit here and talk about a million dollars is not enough, but the most they ever made was $250k. I don’t get that. That’s what I don’t get.”
Nah, that isn’t why Martin turned down the fight with Shakur. It was a lowball offer, so he chose to move on. If Shakur had offered ‘The Ghost’ Martin the right money, he would have taken the fight.
“I anyone ever offered me quadruple I ever made in my career, sign me up in two seconds,” said Shakur. “You ain’t even have to think about it. I don’t think he [Frank Martin] and Pitbull [Cruz] make more money.
“Yeah, he messed up a lot because that was a big opportunity. So, now the only guy he can fight to make up for that is if he goes and fights Tank [Davis], but other than that, he just blew a big opportunity.
“Now, he’s going to go fight for a little bit of money that they’re going to offer him for whatever he’s been making, probably a little bit more than that. So, honestly, I think he messed up bad, and he’s going to put himself in a bad situation.”
If Shakur is going to offer his opponents a pittance, he’s going to be fighting scrubs his entire career, and he’ll never be a star. He already has one strike against him being a defensive fighter, with that awful pull-back style of his.
“Then, he’s going to be running back and begging me to offer him that type of money,” said Shakur. “We’ll see. Just because of the person I am, I don’t duck no action. It depends. We’ll see, we’ll find out,” said Shakur when asked if he thinks he could still fight Frank Martin in the future. “I can’t really tell you if I’ll give him that opportunity again.
“I can’t wait to perform in front of the world. Yeah, it’s at the T-Mobile Arena [in Las Vegas],” said Stevenson when asked where he’ll be fighting De Los Santos.
“I’m one of those dudes that will fight anywhere. Put me anywhere. I’m going to perform, show up, and be who I am. Yeah, I like to fight in Vegas, I like to fight in Jersey, and I like to fight in New York. I like to fight anywhere you put me. I like to fight.
“I wish it was Lomachenko. That would have made a lot of sense in the big room [at Madison Square Garden in New York],” said Shakur.
