Shakur Stevenson got in his work. Now it’s time for the big names at 130 pounds.
The former 126-pound titleholder outclassed Toka Kahn Clary to win a shutout decision in a 10-round fight Saturday inside the MGM Grand “bubble” in Las Vegas, making him 2-0 in his second weight class.
Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs) had his way with Clary, outboxing him, outworking him and landing the bigger, cleaner shots. His body shots were brutal. He also was an elusive target, as Clary (28-3, 19 KOs) landed only 9% of his punches, according to CompuBox.
Clary, a tough veteran, realized fairly early that he was in over his head and went into survival mode. He became more concerned with protecting himself than landing punches, which might’ve prevented Stevenson from stopping him.
As it was, Stevenson easily won every round. All three judges scored it 100-90, as did Boxing Junkie.
It was more of a showcase — a workout? — for the gifted Stevenson than it was a competitive fight.
“He got a lot of experience,” Stevenson said of Clary. “He been around for a long time. I know him from since back in the amateurs. He know how to survive, he came in there to survive, and that’s what he did.”
Stevenson, ranked No. 1 by the WBO and No. 2 by the WBC, made it clear who he’d like to face next year.
WBO 130-pound titleholder Jamel Herring is expected to defend against Carl Frampton next month or in February. Also, WBC champion Miguel Berchelt, who has recovered from the coronavirus, is expected to defend against Oscar Valdez.
Stevenson wants the winner of the Herring-Frampton fight. Then, with the WBO belt in tow, he wants to unify against the Berchelt-Valdez winner. In other words, he plans to clear out the division
“I want the WBO belt first,” he said. “The winner of out of Frampton and Jamel have to come see me. And after that we’re going to go straight for Berchelt.”
Stevenson demonstrated once again on Saturday that he has the ability to pull it off.
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