Michael RothsteinESPN Staff Writer12:53 AM ET3 Minute Read
NEWARK, NJ — Shakur Stevenson has been relentless. Thrown after swipe, landed swipe after swipe—the audible crack told everyone in the Prudential Center what was happening.
Stevenson dominated in his hometown on Saturday night and it was over midway through the sixth round. The referee stopped the fight. Stevenson earned his 20th win of his career and his first as a lightweight by defeating Shuichiro Yoshino in the sixth round.
It was possibly the best thing Stevenson — the 25-year-old former WBO featherweight champion and WBO and WBC junior lightweight champion — has ever seen.
“I think I was even sharper,” Stevenson said. “But I was very focused, very focused on what I was supposed to be doing and sticking to the game plan.”
Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) made his goal clear early. After being patient for a round and a half and fighting a typical Stevenson fight – defensively, with finding points of attack – Stevenson landed a quick left to Yoshino’s face, which sent him to the canvas in the second round.
Yoshino got up, but Stevenson then got much more aggressive and ended the round with a swing.
“It was timing,” Stevenson said. “I timed it the way I timed it, but when I saw him go down I knew it was going to be a short night.”
He continued the carnage in the fourth round, consistently landing punches in his opponent’s face before a right hook landed flush on Yoshino’s jaw and cheek, sending the 31-year-old Japanese boxer to the canvas for a second time.
After this round, the referee went to Yoshino and told him he had to do more to stay in the fight. However, Stevenson kept rolling and he knew that if he knocked him down, Yoshino would get back up again and again – although a third knockdown never materialized because the fight ended.
“He’s a tough guy,” Stevenson said. “I could say he’s a real tough guy.”
Stevenson and his corner seemed so ready that the fighter got up well before the start and waited for his opponent to signal each round – with the instructions between rounds and Stevenson ready to continue his clinic. Stevenson struggled and landed his punches like a rhythm shooter in basketball Saturday night when he knows he’s going to do almost anything.
Stevenson landed 50.2% of his punches (123 of 245) and 59.8% of his power punches (104 of 174). Yoshino (16-1, 12 KOs), meanwhile, threw far more punches (332) but only landed 36 in the entire fight and never landed more than nine punches in any round. Stevenson landed at least 10 punches each round.
Stevenson’s confidence was evident early on. Big throw after big throw landed and Yoshino barely seemed to be throwing. When Yoshino threw, he didn’t get close to him. It was a confidence shown from the moment Stevenson walked out in front of a crowd of over 10,000.
There was a palpable buzz when Stevenson was announced, which turned to a deafening roar when it was announced he was from Newark. Stevenson, sporting the Newark lettering in black across the front of his waistband, made his hometown proud, including the few thousand people who hung out to hear him speak to the crowd after his win.
Stevenson also said who he would like to face next: Devin Haney.
Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko are scheduled to fight for the undisputed lightweight title on May 20th. Stevenson said he believes Haney will win this fight – and then he will take on Haney.
“Tell him come,” Stevenson said. “If that’s what he wants to do, I don’t know why he would see that and say that. I’ve never really seen Devin Haney hurt anyone. He doesn’t really have the clout.
“So if he was watching that, he could tell I could hit. I don’t know what would make him say, ‘Let’s do it.’ Maybe he’s just a competitor. Maybe I just have to respect it.”
After Saturday night, Stevenson said he believes he’s shown the rest of his new division, the lightweight division, that his skills in yet another weight class continue to deserve respect.