Shakur Stevenson won another title but few fans on Thursday in Las Vegas.
The boxing wizard from New Jersey left no doubt that he is far superior to opponent Edwin De Los Santos, comfortably winning a unanimous decision and the vacant WBC 130-pound title.
Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) has now won major belts in three division in a span of only nine fights, which speaks to his unusual ability.
De Los Santos’ problem on Thursday was his inability to hit one of the best defensive fights of his generation. The Dominican chased Stevenson much of the fight but landed a pathetic total of 40 punches, according to CompuBox.
That’s the fewest punches landed in a 12-round fight in CompuBox’s 38-year history.
Stevenson had a similar problem, though: He landed only 65 punches himself because he didn’t take the risks necessary to do so against an opponent known for his power. The winner landed only 19 power shots (to 14 for De Los Santos).
That’s why the disappointed spectators at T-Mobile Arena booed loudly at several points in what was a painfully boring fight.
And it’s probably why the scoring (116-112, 116-112 and 115-113) was closer than it probably should’ve been. If the fighters land few punches, the aggressor – which was De Los Santos in most rounds – will often get the nod.
The only punch that landed with any consistency in the fight was Stevenson’s right jab, which found De Los Santos’ head 46 times. That evidently was the difference in the scoring.
Stevenson acknowledged that it wasn’t his best night.
“I had a bad performance tonight,” he said. “That’s all I’m really focused on. I wasn’t feeling too good, so I’ll live with it. It’s OK. I came here and got the victory, and that’s all I wanted to do.
“I just didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel good before the fight. Honestly, I had already told myself that if I feel like this in the ring and if it’s not going well, I’m going to make sure that I box and get the victory.”
Meanwhile, De Los Santos expressed his frustration with Stevenson’s tactics.
“We all know what happened,” he said. “He came for a track meet. He didn’t come to fight. I showed that I am on a higher level because he never stood and fought like he does with other fighters.
“I did my job. He came to survive. That’s what he did. They gifted him the title, but I’m the people’s champion.”
Neither Stevenson nor De Los Santos was the people’s champion on Thursday night.