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.
B24 will be giving results of the live boxing tonight below of the Stevenson vs. De Los Santos card.
- 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.
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.
Preliminary card on ESPN+, 5:35 pm ET
Brian Norman Jr vs. Quinton Randall
Floyd Diaz vs. Max Ornelas
Troy Isley vs. Vladimir Hernandez
Emiliano Vargas vs. Brandon Mendoza
Jackson Murray vs. Steven Torres
Abdullah Mason vs. Jose Cardenas
Hugo Micallef vs. Sergio Odabai
Giovanni Sarchioto vs. Lucas de Abreu
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.
