No matter what Shakur Stevenson does, it’ll never be enough until he stops worrying about pleasing critics, hellbent on never being pleased.
On Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Stevenson did what he was supposed to do against late-replacement Josh Padley. Stevenson successfully defended his WBC lightweight championship when he scored a ninth-round TKO. Padley’s corner threw in the towel following a third knockdown in the ninth round.
Here is a look at the finish:
Padley performed well, all things considered, but he was clearly outmatched in the areas of skill and athleticism. Stevenson took his time, as he normally does, but ultimately got the stoppage.
Typically, fans had tons to say about following Stevenson’s latest win. Persistent boxing personality posted this AI image to troll Stevenson—one of his favorite pastimes:
While an argument can be made that Stevenson needs to chase more finishes, that’s not his style, and fight fans who don’t appreciate that expose their limited absorption of the sport.
It’s an issue many have to deal with in sports and entertainment. Casuals love flair more than technical brilliance and precision. The issue with Stevenson is that he is wildly frustrated by the lack of respect from fans and people who simply don’t have an appreciation for what he does.
Case in point, Stevenson taunted the Saudi crowd as they booed his victory.
I get Stevenson accepting a villain role, but he’s going to have to live in that position and not straddle the fence.
It’s going to be very difficult for Stevenson to swallow this kind of situation when the opponent he defeated receives more appreciation than he. Predictably, Stevenson’s rival, Gervonta Davis, took the opportunity to offer some slightly cryptic criticism with this simple post on X.
No matter what anyone says, Stevenson remains the toughest potential challenge for Tank Davis. He knows that, and anyone who actually understands boxing knows that as well.
Can Stevenson beat Tank? No one knows, and it’s still one of the biggest and best fights to make in the sport.
Earlier on the card, Callum Smith outlasted Joshua Buatsi in an epic light heavyweight fight that could position the former for another shot at the 175-pound title. I’d also like to see him face David Morrell if the title shot or a fight with David Benavidez isn’t available.
Agit Kabayel became the first man to stop Zhilei Zhang when he smashed Big Bang’s body en route to the sixth-round KO victory. Kabayel is the interim WBC heavyweight champion, but he is close to earning a shot at a legitimate world title.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. looks excellent in taking a unanimous decision win over Israil Madrimov. Ortiz vs. Xander Zayas or Sebastian Fundora would make a lot of sense.
In one of the more underwhelming fights, Hamzah Sheeraz and Carlos Adames fought to a less-than-spirited split draw.
Here is a look at all of the results from the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 card.
- Callum Smith def. Joshua Buatsi via unanimous decision
- Agit Kabayel def. Zhilei Zhang via sixth-round KO
- Vergil Ortiz Jr def. Israil Madrimov via unanimous decision (117-111, 115-113)
- Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz – split draw
- Shakur Stevenson def. Josh Padley via ninth-round TKO
