WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson did what everyone expected him to do and more. The Newark native was supposed to fight Floyd Schofield Jr., but the latter pulled out in the eleventh hour, claiming he had fallen ill. Regardless, England’s Josh Padley stepped in to fill Schofield’s shoes.

Despite showing the heart of a true fighter, Stevenson was way too skilled for the Londoner. Breaking his two-fight unanimous decision streak, Stevenson knocked out Padley in the 9th round of the fight to defend his WBC title on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch. However, despite the win, the fight has caused some concerns among fans about Stevenson’s hand.

What happened to Shakur Stevenson?

Last year, Stevenson was forced to withdraw from his fight against Joe Cordina after suffering a sagittal band and collateral ligament tear, which required immediate surgery. This led to the cancellation of the bout. However, ahead of tonight’s fight, Stevenson had assured everyone that he had fully recovered.

Despite this, Robert Garcia—who was in Riyadh to support his fighter, Vergil Ortiz Jr.—recently revealed that Stevenson wasn’t training at full capacity. According to Garcia, Stevenson was hesitant to throw hard punches during camp, further fueling speculation about his condition. Those concerns became all too real during the fight.

Boxing and BBQ weighed in on X, stating, “This hand situation is getting interesting. Good fighter. Could be in any fight. But those broken hands may catch up eventually.” This sparked widespread discussion among fans, who began questioning how Stevenson’s injury might impact his future bouts.

Stevenson asked to retire from boxing

A boxer’s hands are his biggest assets, and seeing Stevenson potentially damaging them had fans understandably concerned. One user speculated that Stevenson might not be able to beat William Zepeda because of his hand injury. The user wrote, “Hands might not be strong enough to keep Zepeda off of him🤦🏾‍♂️” Interestingly, before Padley stepped in to replace Schofield, Zepeda was supposed to fight Stevenson, but had to pull out because of a hand injury.

Another user felt this bout was the end of Stevenson’s career. He wrote, “Kept shaking them off after every big shot. He done for.” However, Stevenson himself has yet to comment on his injury and whether he faced issues during the fight.

The next user took things to the next level, asking Stevenson to retire from the sport. “If it continues like this then Shak needs to retire. We already know he has the grip strength of a toddler,” wrote a third user. Stevenson has previously hinted at retirement but came out of it immediately, it’s unlikely that he would hang up the gloves this soon.

Even Boxing Kingdom, a popular X account known for news about the sport joined the conversation. They added, “Shakur Stevenson may have hurt his left hand again. Not good…” However, only time will reveal the extent of the damage.

Meanwhile, another user predicted Stevenson would have a short boxing career. He wrote, “He will have a short career.  The heart might be willing, but it seems like the hands are not.” In case, Stevenson did hurt his hand severely, the user might be correct.

That said, it appears Stevenson’s hand injury is still lingering. Whether this will affect his boxing career is yet to be seen, but the question is, do you think Stevenson’s hand was causing him issues during the fight?