1. Shakur Stevenson has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, from featherweight to lightweight, and has held the World Boxing Council lightweight title since 2023.
59 Facts About Shakur Stevenson
1. 2.
Shakur Stevenson had a very successful career at the youth level, winning the 2014 AIBA Youth World Championships and 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.
3.
In Rio de Janeiro, Shakur Stevenson won a silver medal, losing to Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba in the gold medal match.
4.
Shakur Stevenson turned professional on February 9,2017, signing a promotional contract with Top Rank.
5.
Shakur Stevenson showed off his agility, defense and punching skills as he won his first professional fight against American boxer Edgar Brito.
6.
Shakur Stevenson was ahead on all three judges scorecards and won every round.
7.
Shakur Stevenson's opponent was announced as Argentine boxer Carlos Suarez.
8.
Shakur Stevenson won the bout after 2 minutes and 35 seconds of the first round.
9.
Shakur Stevenson fought his second straight Argentine opponent, David Michel Paz in a scheduled six-round fight.
10.
Shakur Stevenson seemed comfortable and patient in letting the fight go the distance.
11.
Shakur Stevenson's first fight for 2018 was announced on February 7 to take place at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino's Grand Theater in Reno, Nevada on February 16 against Juan Tapia in a scheduled 8 round bout.
12.
Shakur Stevenson showed defensive improvements in the fight, boxed with his jab and worked to the body.
13.
Shakur Stevenson used the distance well, allowing Tapia to land only one punch at a time.
14.
Shakur Stevenson became the first 2016 Rio Olympics Team USA male fighter to win a world title.
15.
On July 9,2020, Shakur Stevenson vacated his WBO title without making a single title defense, as he had moved up to the super featherweight division.
16.
On June 9,2020 Shakur Stevenson made his super featherweight debut by defeating Felix Caraballo via 6th round KO.
17.
Shakur Stevenson stepped on the scales at 129.6 pounds and Nakathila officially weighed 129.4 pounds.
18.
Shakur Stevenson knocked down Nakathila with a check hook in the fourth round of their fight, en route to a shutout unanimous decision victory to win the vacant WBO interim junior lightweight title.
19.
The bout attracted criticism from pundits and analysts, citing the low number of punches thrown by Shakur Stevenson leading to a lack of action.
20.
Shakur Stevenson admitted he did not like his performance and tried to get the stoppage.
21.
Shakur Stevenson then said he was being cautious in the fight due to Nakathila's power.
22.
At the weight-in, a stone faced Herring weighed 129.8 pounds, and Shakur Stevenson came in at the 130 pound limit.
23.
Herring suffered his first defeat in four years and claimed Shakur Stevenson was the better man and he had no excuses.
24.
On January 16,2022, there were negotiations that Shakur Stevenson would have a unification bout with WBC champion Oscar Valdez.
25.
Shakur Stevenson felt the fight would make him a pay-per-view star.
26.
Shakur Stevenson weighed at the 130 pound limit and Valdez came in at 129.6 pounds.
27.
Shakur Stevenson dominated using his jab and footwork to outland and outwork Valdez, even scoring a knockdown in round 6.
28.
Valdez was not competitive and had no answer for Shakur Stevenson's defensive skills, reflexes, and more importantly his size, which was a big disadvantage for him.
29.
In doing so, Shakur Stevenson unified the WBC and vacant The Ring super featherweight titles with his WBO super featherweight belt.
30.
Shakur Stevenson entered the bout as a significant favorite, with most bookmakers having him at -1800 odds to win the fight.
31.
Shakur Stevenson missed weight by 1.6 lbs at the official weigh-ins leading to him being stripped of his WBC, WBO, and Ring titles.
32.
Shakur Stevenson saw the fight stylistically tougher than his previous fight against Valdez.
33.
Shakur Stevenson was warned twice for low blows by Referee David Fields in round 3.
34.
Shakur Stevenson continued to control the fight and was deducted a point in the ninth round for tossing Conceicao to the canvas.
35.
Shakur Stevenson flipped Conceicao to the canvas again in round 10, this time only a warning was given.
36.
Shakur Stevenson was booked to face Yoshino on April 8,2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
37.
Shakur Stevenson used his jab and right hook to keep Yoshino at bay, while mixing up his attack with body shots and uppercuts.
38.
Shakur Stevenson dominated the fight with his speed, accuracy and ring IQ, dropping Yoshino twice and landing at will until the referee intervened.
39.
Shakur Stevenson weighed 133.8 pounds and De Los Santos checked in at 134.3 pounds.
40.
Shakur Stevenson landed a total of 65 out of 205 punches and De Los Santos landed 40 of his 316 thrown.
41.
In January 2024, Shakur Stevenson took to X and briefly announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 26.
42.
Shakur Stevenson made his first defense of his WBC lightweight title against Artem Harutyunyan at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on July 6,2024.
43.
Shakur Stevenson was last defeated by Frank Martin via unanimous decision in Las Vegas in July 2023.
44.
Shakur Stevenson turned down a $15 million five-fight deal with his existing promoter Top Rank and thus became a free agent.
45.
Shakur Stevenson was scheduled to make the second defense of his title against Joe Cordina at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 12 October 2024.
46.
On September 11,2024 it was announced that Shakur Stevenson suffered hand injury and the fight was cancelled.
47.
Shakur Stevenson felt his name was just being used to promote themselves.
48.
We've made them an offer, when Shakur Stevenson was supposed to be fighting Zepeda.
49.
Shakur Stevenson however said he was too smart and had more experience and this would be his key to winning.
50.
Shakur Stevenson stated he was unbothered about the replacement and still up for putting on a performance.
51.
Shakur Stevenson scored a ninth-round TKO to retain his world title.
52.
Shakur Stevenson went on to call out WBA champion Gervonta Davis for a unification bout.
53.
Shakur Stevenson was praised by Stevenson for stepping in and later rewarded with a multi-fight promotional deal with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing.
54.
De La Hoya accused Shakur Stevenson of pulling out of the fight.
55.
Shakur Stevenson retaliated by stating the money he was originally offered for the fight by Turki Alalshikh, has now been lowered.
56.
Shakur Stevenson took up boxing at age five under his grandfather Wali Moses and cites Andre Ward as his influence.
57.
Shakur Stevenson was arrested on July 1,2018, and charged with misdemeanor battery.
58.
On June 18,2019, Shakur Stevenson agreed to a deal where the charges would be dropped after one year of probation and 50 hours of community service.
59.
Shakur Stevenson is engaged to Lyric Ragston, a rapper and singer who performs under the name "Young Lyric".