Who Is Edwin De Los Santos and Why Did Shakur Stevenson Chose to Fight Him for Vacant WBC Lightweight Title?

On November 16, fans and followers will get to see a battle of the southpaws. Former two-division champion Shakur Stevenson will take on Edwin De Los Santos at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The face-off comes under the most unusual circumstances. The winner of the Stevenson-Los Santos fight would be crowned the next WBC Lightweight champion. Until recently, Devin Haney held the belt as part of his undisputed championship title.

He tried to pull off a match with Stevenson. However, the latter disagreed with the offered split share. Subsequently, he refused to budge from his stand. As a result, the fight withered away. Subsequently, ‘The Dream’ decided to move on, probably to fulfill his ambition of becoming an undisputed champion in another division. He got the opportunity to challenge the reigning WBC Light Welterweight champion, Regis Prograis. On the other hand, since he had to vacate the Lightweight title, the mantle fell on the mandatory challenger, Shakur Stevenson, and the top-ranking contender to settle the matter.

Shakur Stevenson’s quest for the Lightweight title and the mysterious opponent

24-year-old Edwin De Los Santos is from Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The Southpaw commenced his professional career in 2018 and has thus far participated in 17 fights, where he won 16 and lost one. Out of the 16 victories, 14 came his way through knockouts. His knockout-to-win rate stands at 87.5 percent. It clearly speaks volumes about the young Dominican boxer’s bias toward early stoppages.

On July 8, Los Santos fought Joseph Adorno on the Jaron Ennis–Roiman Villa card. He won the fight unanimously. Before that, he grabbed everyone’s attention by knocking out Jose Valenzuela on September 4 last year, during the Isaac Cruz–Edward Ramirez card. It should be noted that the only defeat he suffered, a split decision, came at the hands of William Foster III.

Standing at 5 feet 8 inches, or 173 centimeters, Edwin De Los Santos matches Shakur Stevenson’s height. However, with 70 inches, or 178 centimeters, he enjoys a slight advantage in terms of hand reach. It would be the first title fight for the southpaw from the Dominican Republic.

How Edwin De Los Santos emerged for title contention

It’s not that WBC does not have other containers of both repute and caliber on its roster. Incidentally, before Los Santos’ name came, Stevenson and Frank Martin were lined up to settle the Lightweight argument. However, as it happened in Stevenson’s case, reportedly unhappy with his share, Martin refused to go ahead with the deal, and the fight had to be carried on with the contender next in line.

Interestingly, fans recently came across footage of Shakur Stevenson trying an orthodox stance during a sparring session with Richardson Hitchins. Jamel Herring was the last southpaw ‘Sugar’ fought. It was two years ago. Stevenson remains the heavy favorite to win. However, it is also clear that Edwin De Los Santos is no pushover. He will come to fight. Speaking of which, even Hitchins reportedly said that it was going to be a tough fight—probably the toughest so far—for Shakur Stevenson.

Read More: Shakur Stevenson Names “The Toughest Most Competitive Person” He Got in The Ring With

If Stevenson wins on November 16 and Haney returns to 135 pounds, then do you think they should finally agree to a fight? Please share your views with us in the comments below.

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