Shakur Stevenson: Student of the Game!
On October 26, “Fearless” Shakur Stevenson (13-0, 7 KO’s) put on a masterclass performance. His opponent, Joet Gonzalez (23-1, 14 KO’s), was supposed to represent a major test for the young fighter. Although, when all the dust had settled, Gonzalez walked away looking like one of Stevenson’s sparring partners.
“I been saying this for a while, I feel like I study the game. I sit down and I watch boxing all day, I watch Sweet Pea, Terence, I watch real defensive fighters that know how to get out of the way of the punches and come back.
“That’s what I was trying to make sure I did today […] it felt like sparring, it kind of felt like sparring. That’s what I kept telling myself, act like I’m in my gym and I’m in sparring. So, I definitely put on a good performance and it’s going to be better ones.”
In the build-up to the bout there was a great deal of hoopla surrounding the fact that Fearless was dating Gonzalez’s sister. More importantly, it was clear that Gonzalez did not approve of the relationship. Naturally, this led to quite a bit of animosity and frequently flared tempers.
Yet, despite the overtly cantankerous discord in the pre-fight hype, post-fight, Stevenson was immediately ready to mend any broken fences. Rather predictably, Gonzalez was not so gung-ho to squash the beef. The loss cost Gonzalez some sense of family honor and the chance to claim the vacant WBO featherweight title.
WHATS NEXT?
Now that Stevenson has armed himself with the strategic trinket, he has designs on using it to leverage a fight with IBF world featherweight champion Josh “The Leeds Warrior” Warrington (30-0, 7 KO’s).
Despite being pursued by Fearless for some time now, Warrington has consistently brushed off talks of staging a fight. While some may disagree, the Leeds Warrior insisted that Stevenson needed to claim a title if he wanted his attention.
That obstruction removed, Stevenson wasted little time in renewing his campaign to pen a contract with Warrington. In fact, he even now feels like the A-side. Although, Stevenson is willing to fight the IBF champion in either America or the UK. With the level of talent and polish that Fearless Shakur Stevenson is displaying this potential unification bout is all the more interesting.
Only time will tell how this current situation works itself out. However, it would be a very hard task to figure out why a Stevenson v Warrington clash is not a very good thing. Let’s keep our collective fingers crossed and hope that this enticing fight comes to fruition.
“I want Warrington next, I feel like that’s the perfect fight for me. I feel like I can make history if I unify in fourteen fights. […] I feel like it’s time.
“[…] Yeah, I’d definitely go to England, I don’t mind going to England. But I feel like I ain’t going to lie, I feel like I’m the bigger draw now. I feel like I’m a bigger name than Josh Warrington, I feel like I’m the better fighter. He probably did have his belt longer, but I think I’m a way better fighter.
“So, if he want to come to Vegas or New York or I’ll go to England, wherever the fight at I’ll fight him.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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