Shakur Stevenson achieved what he wanted. The 26-year-old Olympic silver medalist from New Jersey defeated Edwin De Los Santos to become the new WBC Lightweight champion. The win made him a three-division world champion. The judges at the T Mobile Arena awarded him a unanimous victory. The scorecards read, 115-113, 116-112, 116-112. Stevenson now joins Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis as one of the three title holders at 135 pounds.

However, not everyone sounded happy. Throughout the match, Shakur Stevenson maintained a steady pace of attack. With a knockout-to-win rate of 88%, it was expected that De Los Santos would push the pace of the bout. However, he appeared too timid to put any of his dazzling style into effect against Stevenson’s point-fighting. The Newark-born boxer cited dissatisfaction with his performance. But many of his colleagues and former greats would have none of it. As fans saw, they weren’t too generous with their remarks.

Shakur Stevenson faces peer scrutiny

As one could expect, many of the boxers with whom he has had open differences in recent times joined unhesitatingly. Nearly half of his victories have come via decision. Hence, Stevenson often gets measured against the yardstick of securing an early stoppage. No wonder, despite his skills, many criticize him for being a point-getter despite his obvious talent.

Oscar De La Hoya was among the first to comment. Taking a dig at Stevenson, ‘The Golden Boy’ mentioned that his promoter, Bob Arum, needs to be woken up.

The new WBC Lightweight champion’s rival in the 140-pound division, Ryan Garcia, launched a series of attacks. First, he shared that, as a result of his aggression, Edwin De Los Santos was winning. However, in spite of that, he would receive any of the rounds.

Some time later, he commented that many followers expressed concern over De Los Santos barely making a connection with his punches. However, in his opinion, Stevenson hadn’t done anything other than delaying the Dominican boxer.

Finally, ‘KingRy’ mentioned that he would rather have his money refunded and go to bed early than go to the Stevenson-De Los Santos fight during a Formula 1 weekend. Later, he requested that everyone let him know who comes out on top once the fight is over.

It would have been foolish to think that archrival Devin Haney would remain quiet. Alluding to the fight discussion he had with Shakur Stevenson, which the latter rejected on account of the 25% split, Haney said that he should have offered him 10% only. Perhaps he was too generous.

Next, Haney told everyone not to get too bothered by stories of how everyone’s scared of Shakur Stevenson. The only thing he went after was influence.

Rolando Romero said that he overheard someone in Stevenson’s corner that his body hurts.

George Kambosos Jr. also joined the list. He said that Formula 1 would be a better watch than this match.

It looks like they were all looking for an opportunity. Incidentally, Gervonta Davis, who is already having a tiff with Devin Haney, later replied to Devin Haney’s post on the 10% offer. He said that’s the best the unified Lightweight champion could expect from him.

Shakur Stevenson admits ring troubles

During the post-interview, Shakur Stevenson said, “I had a bad performance tonight… I wasn’t feeling too good. I’ll live with it; it’s OK. I came in, got the victory, and that’s all I wanted to do.”

A deeper analysis makes it a bit more clear. Shakur Stevenson appeared more occupied during the fight. He controlled the space with his jabs. His outstanding defense may perhaps explain De Los Santos being able to land barely forty punches for the entire fight. Otherwise, overall, the match witnessed 33 power punches from both boxers. Perhaps that’s the reason why the fight’s overall reception hasn’t been so positive among both the viewers and the followers who watched it on-screen.

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Do you think Shakur Stevenson should continue to stick to his current fight style or change over? Please share your views with us in the comments below.

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