Shuichiro Yoshino Hopes to Edge Shakur Stevenson With Power
Up next for Shuichiro Yoshino (16-0, 12, KOs) is a battle against two-division champion Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) on April 8 in a WBC lightweight title eliminator. The fight takes place in Stevenson’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey. But Yoshino relishes the challenge.
During an interview with Ring Magazine, Yoshino talked about fighting someone considered one of the more skilled fighters in the sport.
(Translated from Japanese) “I am very excited to be competing against such a great boxer [as] Stevenson. [He is an] Olympic [silver] medalist, undefeated two-division world champion.
“I think his speed is top grade too. [I want to test him] mentally, and [I don’t think he has good] power.
. . . I’m really looking forward to it. I am training hard to beat Stevenson. Even in Shakur’s hometown, I will still do my own boxing.”
FULL OF SELF-BELIEF
Yoshino’s last two outings were back-to-back victories against ex-WBO junior lightweight champion Masayuki Ito in April 2022 and against former world-ranked lightweight Masayoshi Nakatani in November 2022. He feels those fights showed that he’s world-class and proved he’s ready for the likes of Stevenson.
Most insiders believe Yoshino cannot win a pure boxing match against the two-division champion. But Yoshino does have an advantage in the power department. The resident of Tokyo, Japan can crack with both hands and has shown the ability to hurt opponents to both, the head and body.
It would behoove the Japanese fighter if he can turn the fight into a slugfest. He must land and land often with his power shots and be at his best if he hopes to walk away with what would be the biggest win of his career.
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