Shakur Stevenson Wins Fight vs. Edwin De Los Santos by Decision to Secure WBC Title

Shakur Stevenson claimed his third world championship with a unanimous decision win over Edwin De Los Santos at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to win the WBC lightweight championship.

Stevenson was in no rush to make a statement early on. Both fighters were tentative throughout the early rounds and the American had no problem simply using his movement and counter-punching to bank the uneventful opening moments of the fight.

The slow pace and methodical point fighting for Stevenson continued throughout the fight. De Los Santos was expected to bring some pressure and test his ability to fire off counters, but he was too hesitant to really lead the dance.

The boxing community was less than impressed with the effort from both fighters. Stevenson was criticized for not throwing much behind his jab while winning rounds and De Los Santos’s lack of aggression frustrated analysts.

The booing crowd and social media backlash didn’t change the bout as it wore on. While some blamed the style matchup between two distinctively different southpaws, others wondered allowed if Stevenson’s hand was compromised based on his reliance on the jab.

It was far from a fight that will win Stevenson a lot of fans, but it did get his hand raised with a fairly comprehensive decision win and sustained his undefeated record.

With the win, the 26-year-old now has titles in the featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight divisions. This was only his second fight in the 135-pound division.

Stevenson’s quest to capture another championship has been completed, but his quest for a big fight aginst a true star remains incomplete. The WBC title was vacated by Devin Haney. He would certainly qualify as a star opponent, but he was named “champion in recess” by the WBC as he moves up to fight Regis Prograis for the organization’s junior welterweight crown at 140 pounds.

Stevenson didn’t shy away from calling out Haney for ducking him in his eyes.

“He felt like the fight with Regis was an easier fight. If he’s got me in front of him and Regis in front of him, he felt like a fight with Regis would be an easier option,” he told Sky Sports ahead of the fight.

Haney’s “champion in recess” title gives him the right to come back down and fight Stevenson for his belt, but that seems unlikely if he’s successful against Progais.

Stevenson also has his eye on another major fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

“I think it’s the biggest fight in the world,” Stevenson told BoxingScene.com. “I think that when it happens it needs to be promoted and put out there like that. I think that me and him is two of the best fighters in the world. And honestly, I just feel like it should be worldwide. That’ll be the best fight in boxing right now, if you ask me.”

Stevenson’s slick counter-punching and technical skill would certainly be an interesting test for Davis and his fight-changing power. He’s probably correct in his assertion that it’s the biggest fight to be made in the division right now.

With yet another win over an inferior opponent, Stevenson has earned the chance.

Edwin De Los Santos shocked Shakur Stevenson and took the WBC lightweight crown in the process with a (INSERT METHOD OF VICTORY HERE) win at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

With the win, De Los Santos ruins Stevenson’s previously undefeated 20-0 record while winning his first world title. The hard-hitting Dominican came into the bout as a WBC Continental Americas champion with just one split-decision loss to William Foster III on his record, but was a massive underdog against Stevenson.

Now, he’s guaranteed he’ll be getting much more respect the next time he steps in the ring.

At just 24 years old, De Los Santos is the youngest world champion from the Dominican Republic since Rafael Torres in 1989. Now, De Los Santos finds himself in this position through a series of fortunate events.

The WBC title was vacated by Devin Haney. He would certainly qualify as a star opponent, but he was named “champion in recess” by the WBC as he moves up to fight Regis Prograis for the organization’s junior welterweight crown at 140 pounds.

It was originally supposed to be Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Stevenson in this spot, then Frank Martin. Both declined to fight Stevenson, but De Los Santos was a willing challenger.

Stevenson spent a lot of his media availabity in the lead up to the fight talking about future bouts with Gervonta Davis or Haney’s decision to vacate the belt in the first place.

“It has to do with me having been in the ring with a lot of these fighters,” he told Andreas Hale of the Sports News of fighters ducking him. “Being that they’ve been in the ring with me, they know that I’m the truth. They know who they’ve been in the ring with and sometimes you’ll never forget that.”

With a major upset loss now on his record, Stevenson has more work to do if he wants to break into the realm of the stars of the sport.