2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10KOs) won an unpopular 12 round unanimous decision over Edwin De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) to capture the vacant WBC lightweight title on Thursday night at the T-Mobile Arena In Las Vegas.
The fight was so dull, mostly due to Shakur’s pull-back style, that you can argue that De Los Santos deserved the win because he at least was trying to land punches and not retreating all night.
Scores: 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112. Boxing News 24 had De Los Santos winning 9-3. Shakur’s defensive style of fighting made him undeserving of a victory tonight.
B24 will be giving live boxing results tonight below the Stevenson vs. De Los Santos card.
- In a surprise outcome, WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) and challenger 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao (17-2-1, 8 KOs) fought to a twelve round majority draw. The scores were 114-112 Navarrete, 113-113, and 113-113. Boxing News 24 scored it for Conceicao 7-5. He was the sharper, busier fighter through most of the rounds against a sluggish, slow, and chunky-looking Navarrete. This was not the Navarrete that beat Oscar Valdez in his previous fight. We saw the flabby-looking Navarrete get badly hurt By little-known Liam Wilson. Navarrete dropped Conceicao in the fourth and seventh rounds. He also appeared to have him hurt in the eleventh. However, Conceicao finished strong, hitting the slow-looking Navarrete with nonstop punches in the twelfth. As competitive as this fight was, a rematch would be in store if Top Rank wants to go in that direction. This fight was drama-filled and it’s going to be difficult for Shakur Stevenson & Edwin De Los Santos in the main event to outdo this war.
- Middleweight prospect Troy Isley (11-0, 4 KOs) won a narrow eight round unanimous decision over Vladimir Hernandez (14-6, 6 KOs) in a fight that easily could have gone the other way. Isley ran out of gas after the fourth round and got away with using the illegal straight arm without being penalized or disqualified. The straight arm may have saved Isley from being knocked out, as he was hurt in the seventh and eight round. The scores were 77-75, 77-75, and 77-75. Hernandez was the much busier fighter down the stretch and was nailing Isley at will with shots in the seventh and eighth round. Again, the illegal straight arm by Isley saved him from being soundly beaten. The performance from Isley showed that he’s not destined to win a world title.
- In a sensational performance, lightweight prospect Emiliano Vargas (8-0, 7 KOs) stopped the hapless Brandon Mendoza (6-3, 6 KOs) by a second round knockout. Mendoza down down twice in the first and a final time in the second round. Initially, there was only one knockdown credited to Mendoza. However, at the start of the second round, video replay showed that Mendoza’s glove had touched the canvas after getting hit with a right hand from Vargas in the first. As such, Vargas was given credit for a second knockdown. In the second round, Vargas dropped Mendoza with a dropping right hand to the head, causing him to hit the canvas face first. The bout was then halted by the referee. The time of the stoppage was 57 seconds of the first.
- Undefeated Australian heavyweight Jackson Murray (6-0, 4 KOs) beat Steven Torres (6-1-1, 6 KOs) by a one-sided six round unanimous decision. The heavy-handed 230-lb Murray knocked down Torres in the third and dominated the rest of the way. The judges’ scores were 60-53, 60-53, and 60-53.
- Lightweight contender Abdullah Mason (11-0, 9 KOs) put in an impressive performance, knocking out Jose Cardenas (7-2, 5 KOs) in the second round. The 19-year-old Mason landed a beautiful left-right combination that put the 23-year-old Cardenas flat on his back. Referee Tony Weeks then stepped in immediately and halted the contest. The time of the stoppage was at 1:55 of round two. In the first round, Mason knocked Cardenas down with a left to the head from a punch that he never saw coming. Cardenas got back to his feet and fought well for the remainder of the round, catching Mason several times with well-timeed right hands.
- Undefeated light welterweight prospect Hugo Micallef (9-0, 2 KOs) defeated Sergio Odabai (6-2-1, 3 KOs) by a fourth round stoppage. Odabai opted not to come out for the fifth round. It was a good move by Adabai not to continue fighting because he was soaking up punishment.
- Super middleweight prospect Giovanni Sarchioto (9-0, 8 KOs) blasted out Lucas de Abreu (14-5, 11 KOs) by a third round knockout. Sarchioto dropped de Abreu twice in the third round. The time of the stoppage was 2:06.
Shakur Stevenson will go at it with Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC lightweight title tonight, along with the WBO super featherweight champion returning to defend against 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao.
Tonight’s Stevenson-De Los Santos event will be shown on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10:30 pm ET/7:30 p.m. PT.
De Los Santos has the power to send Shakur into orbit around Neptune if he connects, and it’s going to be interesting to see if he can get to his chin. Shakur was hurt by Oscar Valdez in their fight last year in April and reportedly knocked out by Liam Paro in training camp.
Prediction
Stevenson will play it safe, fighting cautiously to win by a 12 round unanimous over De Los Santos.
WBO 130-lb champion Emanuel Navarrete (38-1, 31 KO) will need a strong showing against Robson Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs) in the chief support bout tonight to make him a viable option for Shakur in 2024.
Shakur needs the WBC belt
Stevenson sounded negative to the idea of fighting Navarrete next when asked about the possibility of fighting him, as he wants Vasily Lomachenko next.
In the build-up to the fight with De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KOs), Stevenson has sounded obsessed with Tank and Devin Haney and has spent more time talking about them than he has his opponent for tonight.
Shakur (20-0, 10 KOs) needs this WBC 135-lb belt to help him further his goal of getting a fight with Gervonta Davis.
Given how much effort Shakur has put into talking up fights with Haney & Tank Davis, he was probably told by his promoters at Top Rank to focus on them rather during the promotion than his less-known opponent De Los Santos.
Yeah, it’s troubling to see a guy like Shakur using trickery to get fans interested in his match against De Los Santos by clout-chasing popular fighters like Gervonta & Haney, who never fight, but that strategy works.
“I think I do a good job of marketing and promoting myself. I’m good at putting my business out there. I’m good at selling the biggest fights,” said Shakur Stevenson to the Pivod Podcast site.
“There’s one fight out there that I really want to fight. There’s one fighter out there that I think will be the biggest fight, and I think we should make it happen. Tank, that’s the biggest and the best fight in the world,” Stevenson said when asked what is his #1 guy that he wants on his hitlist.
“They’re going to tell you that I haven’t done enough and that I haven’t fought nobody, whatever they’re going to tell you, but honestly, I’m ready for the moment,” said Shakur, not realizing that Gervonta Davis’ promoters at Mayweather Promotions aren’t likely to play ball with Top Rank.
Stevenson’s contract ends with Top Rank next year
“I think anything is possible. Tyson Fury was with Top Rank when [PBC-managed Deontay] Wilder fought him,” said Stevenson when asked if it’s possible for a fight between him and Premier Boxing Champions fighter Tank Davis can happen. “Bud [Crawford] was with Top Rank when he fought Shawn Porter.
“Anything is possible, but like I said, my contract [with Top Rank] is over next year. Once my contract is over, I’ll be available [to fight Tank Davis]. It’s all on Tank to say that he wants to fight me,” said Shakur.
It would be a shame if Shakur left Top Rank, naively thinking that it would guarantee a fight with Tank Davis, but then it still not happening. Shakur needs to see things for how they really are. Leaving Top Rank won’t likely improve his chances of fighting Tank.
Even if Stevenson signs with PBC, he’ll still be no better off than he is now with his dreams of fighting Tank. What Shakur should do is focus on his career and stop looking elsewhere for unattainable fights against guys like Tank, Haney, and Lomachenko.
“Put me in one of the biggest fights. I bet you I have so many different people wanting to watch just becaue of what I said and what I done told them,” Shakur said.
“The difference is, I’m not one of those people that don’t believe in what I’m selling. I truthfully tell you right now that I think I’m the best fighter in boxing. That’s my opinion, I believe that.
“The world has got their choice whether they want to follow it, but they’re going to see,” said Stevenson.