It isn’t any fun taking on fighters who were once considered great but are now clearly past their best. It’s a normal trend in boxing. When a fighter is looking to make a name for himself, he’ll face a faded contender or former world champion who’s seen better days.
It’s normal. It’s even expected but for Shakur Stevenson, he doesn’t enjoy it one bit.
“I like fighting the fighters that’s young and undefeated, accomplishing things in the sport like myself,” wrote Stevenson on his social media account.
In his last fight, Stevenson took on a young thoroughbred in Edwin De Los Santos. He may have picked up the win but it was the most difficult night of his life.
The 23-year-old pushed Stevenson like practically no one else, although he claims an injured hand prevented him from doing his best.
Now that De Los Santos is out of the way, Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) wants to get back to fighting vets. Vasiliy Lomachenko is his preferred choice but he’s been linked to Emanuel Navarrete as well.
The current WBO super featherweight champ has been on a role but just before the year came to an end, he was forced to accept a disappointing draw against Robson Conceicao.
Top Rank, the promotional banner that Stevenson and Navarrete fight under, wanted to match them up at some point in 2024. His draw against Conceicao, however, dimmed the lights on their showdown.
From Stevenson’s point of view, a draw against a respected boxer isn’t a bad thing. That, and his lack of options, has Stevenson wanting to jump into the ring with Navarrete next. With countless names lining up big fights, Stevenson believes that his path to the big stage leads to a showdown with Navarrete.
“Let’s make a big fight USA vs Mexico. I’m not into taking the easy route. Let’s get the WBC and WBO involved champion.”
By Hans Themistode