Stevenson Becomes Three-Division Championship With A Lackluster Win Over De Los Santos
Credit: Top Rank/Mikey Williams
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Stevenson Becomes A Three-Division Champion With A Lackluster Win Over De Los Santos

By FIGHTSPORTS

Shakur Stevenson became a three-division champion with a unanimous decision victory against Edwin De Los Santos to secure the vacant WBC lightweight title in an underwhelming performance.

In the opening rounds, both fighters were feeling each other out as Shakur moved around and countered with his jab in an uneventful start. Shakur’s jab was a step ahead, but De Los Santos responded in kind by pushing Stevenson on the back foot with his own during the second round. The crowd became dissatisfied as the boos echoed around the stadium. By round four, however, the dissatisfaction became more noticeable. Stevenson’s right hand in the third and a jab in the fourth summed up a reluctance to punch, as Stevenson landed only 21 shots with his left hand.

There was a perception during the fight that Stevenson’s left hand had been hurt, something which he remained coy about in the post-fight comments. In the fifth round, De Los Santos’ frustration became visible as he aimed to goad Stevenson into trading, something which the latter refrained from. Following the halfway stage of the fight, the boos were visible once again.

And that resulted in both fighters being warned by the referee for punching after the break of the clinch in round nine. In round ten, however, Stevenson’s straight left did connect as the punch had deserted him for most of the fight even if he did take the decision: 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112. The performance was well below the expectation that Shakur had set himself, which was noticeable in the post-fight comments, in what was arguably Stevenson’s worst performance.

Comments

“I really don’t care about (being three-division champion. I had a bad performance tonight, that’s all I’m really focused on. I wasn’t feeling too good. I’ll live with it, it’s OK, I came here, got the victory, and that’s all I wanted to do. I don’t got nothin’ to say about that [my hand], I don’t make no excuses. It happens.

“We go through a lot as a fighter. I’m good. I just didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel good before the fight. Honestly, I already told myself, if I’m feeling like this in the ring and it’s not going well, I’ll make sure to box and get the victory. He’s got some punching power. He’s got good little defense and he’s a little tricky. He grabbed on the inside and stopped me from punching. He’s a good fighter,” Stevenson

“You know what? I came to fight, he came for a track meet. And I wouldn’t say that I’m on his level. I would say I’m above his level because I came to fight tonight. I came to put on a fight, and Shakur Stevenson decided not to fight. He was gifted a title, but I am the champion of the people,” De Los Santos

Reaction

Co-Main Event

In chief support, Emanuel Navarrete kept his WBO junior lightweight belt with a majority draw against Robson Conceicao. Conceicao started well by attacking the champion’s body and pushing him to the ropes. The same continued in round three as Conceicao landed a left hook, which resulted in Navarrete responding with a right hand. The next round, however, turned the tables. A left uppercut sent Conceicao to the canvas as he took a knee. However, the Brazilian managed to compose himself to make it to the end of the round.

Although Conceicao responded with a left hook and a right hand in the next round, he found himself in trouble once again during the seventh round. The champion struck with a right to the body as Conceicao hit the floor once again.

Both fighters then exchanged in an action-packed final few rounds as the fight was scored as follows: 114-112, 113-113 and 113-113.

Comments

“I’m happy to come away with the belt. I give a lot of credit to Robson Conceicao. We both did what we said we were going to do. We came out here and gave the fans a wonderful fight, and he’s a tremendous fighter. His technique is next-level, and that’s what made it so hard. If it’s up to me, I will definitely give Robson a rematch because he deserves it. It may not be up to me. And if I get another crack at fighting Robson, now I know how he fights, what his technique is like and what his strengths are,” Navarrete
“I give ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete a lot of credit, he’s such a powerful fighter, but I know what I did tonight, and I know I deserved the victory. I think we both deserve the rematch. He’s a wonderful fighter, I proved what I’m capable of, and I believe if we do get that rematch, we will both train harder, we will both give the fans an even better fight, because we’ve both proven what we’re capable of,” Conceicao

Results

Shakur Stevenson beat Edwin De Los Santos via a unanimous decision: 115-113, 116-112 & 116-112

Emanuel Navarrete and Robson Conceicao ended in a majority draw: 114-112, 113-113 & 113-113

Brian Norman Jr. beat Quinton Randall via a unanimous decision: 99-91, 99-91 & 97-93

Floyd Diaz beat Max Ornelas via a split decision: 77-73, 78-72 & 74-76

Troy Isley beat Vladimir Hernandez via a unanimous decision: 77-75, 77-75 & 77-75

Emiliano Vargas beat Brian Mendoza via a second-round KO

Abdullah Mason beat Jose Cardenas via a second round KO

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