Mike CoppingerESPN Nov 17, 2023, 1:33am ET3 minutes read
LAS VEGAS – Shakur Stevenson entered Thursday’s fight against Edwin De Los Santos looking to make a statement as his star continues to brighten. And now that he’s won a title in a third weight class, his stock has plummeted after one of the worst TV main events in recent memory.
Stevenson offered no excuses after defeating De Los Santos by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112 in a lightweight title fight in which neither fighter reached double figures in strikes in any of the 12 rounds.
“I had a bad performance tonight,” said Stevenson, ESPN’s No. 8 pound-for-pound boxer. “That’s all I really focus on. I wasn’t feeling well, so I’ll live with it. It’s okay …”
“I didn’t feel good before the fight,” he continued. “Honestly, I had already told myself that if I felt like that in the ring and things didn’t go well, I would make sure I boxed and got the win.”
Stevenson showed limited attacking power throughout, especially with his left hand. When asked if his hand was injured, Stevenson did not elaborate.
“I can’t say anything about that,” he said. “I don’t make excuses. It happens. We go through a lot as fighters.”
Devin Haney, who has been battling Stevenson on social media for months, wrote on X: “Stop this fear narrative… no one was ever afraid of this bum!”
Stevenson and others may have called him the most avoided fighter in boxing.
Boxing star Ryan Garcia wrote on the same platform: “Imagine if I went to this fight on this Formula 1 weekend, I would demand my money back and go straight to bed, that’s how sleepy I would be if I was there.”
The clash of styles is largely responsible for the lack of action. Both boxers are southpaws and neither wanted to take the lead.
So while Stevenson walked away with the win and his Third Division title – one that was taken away from Haney after he signed against Regis Prograis on December 9th – he has to recover from a night filled with boos and fans getting up made their way to the exits, the fight even ended.
But from an entertainment perspective, all was not lost on this Thursday evening.
Emanuel Navarrete, boxing’s most reliable action fighter, delivered another slugfest but was surprisingly held to a draw in a 130-pound title defense against Robson Conceicao.
Navarrete floored Conceicao twice – in rounds 4 and 7 – and came close to stopping him in round 11, but the Olympic gold medalist won the final round on all three scorecards to avoid defeat and likely earn a rematch to back up.
To wash away the bad taste of his fight, Stevenson needs to fight a pressure fighter who lets his hands go, someone he can face in an entertaining fight. Navarrete more than fits the bill and has been linked to a possible fight for Stevenson in April, but his draw changes things as a rematch could be next.
William Zepeda, promoted by Golden Boy, could be Stevenson’s best option at this point. The undefeated Mexican routinely throws more than 1,000 punches per fight. At one point it even exceeded the 1,500 mark. Against a volume puncher like Zepeda, Stevenson could showcase his skills in a TV-friendly fight that will make fans forget about this night once and for all.
Here’s how I saw the action throughout the night: