Shakur Stevenson is intent on facing Vasily Lomachenko next once he takes on Edwin De Los Santos this Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
(Courtesy of Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images)
When asked if Top Rank had confirmed that Lomachenko was his next opponent, Shakur (20-0, 10 KOs) admitted that they had not informed Lomachenko. His hope is that Lomachenko, a former three-division world champion, will be available.
Unfortunately for Shakur, Loma is expected to fight George Kambosos Jr. next, and Top Rank would prefer that.
If Shakur prevails against De Los Santos, the more realistic options for him would be: Raymond Muratara or frank martin. Both of these two are great choices and will excite many of his boxing fans.
If Devin Haney does not return to lightweight, Top Rank will likely prefer a matchup between Shakur and Muratala. Muratala isn’t as famous as Lomachenko, but if he’s not an option for Shakur, what can he do?
A move from De Los Santos to Muratala makes a lot of sense. That’s because they are both big punchers and will keep Shakur on guard.
Shakur is still under contract with Top Rank, but he should take advantage of the situation by having him face Teofimo Lopez at 140. It will be a double fight.
Shakur denies he’s a runner
“I mean, he ignores my attacks. I heard him say I don’t have the power. It’s the same story every game. I keep hearing the same thing.” said Shakur Stevenson. media When Edwin de los Santos said, “I can’t punch,” it seems true considering his 50% KO rate.
It’s impossible to watch Shakur’s fights with Jeremiah Nakatiglia, Oscar Valdez, and Jamel Herring and not conclude that he really is a “runner,” and that’s okay.
You can’t expect a fighter with no punching power like Shakur to stand in the pocket and go head-to-head against a stronger opponent, especially if he’s been knocked out in training camp.
“That’s a lie. We don’t even have to sit there.” Shakur said in response to being told that de los Santos called him a “runner.” This becomes a skill issue. Edwin is a really skilled fighter, but I have better skill.
“Time to wake him up. I think Edwin is a good fighter. I think he’s more of a boxer than he looks. I think he’s going to come in here and try to move around. We’re going to figure him out by the fourth round.”
Shakur is not a big puncher and moves quite a bit. In his last fight with Shuichiro Yoshino, he stayed in the pocket and knocked him out in six rounds, but it wasn’t one of the better fighters in the lightweight division. If Shakur tries to fight De Los Santos the same way, he might live to regret it.
“I really don’t care. I can barely understand what he’s saying,” Shakur said when told that de los Santos referred to him as “.”chicken’ and that he was going to makechicken soup’ Got out of him. “If I end up making soup with chicken, I’ll see you on Thursday.”
Shakur would be making a mistake if he stood up and traded for De Los Santos, because this guy has the kind of power that can take him down with either hand.
The most likely scenario is that Shakur takes a single shot and immediately retreats as De Los Santos tries to land it. It might be a boring fight, but it’s Shakur’s best path to victory against this type of fighter.
If de los Santos didn’t have the pop to his punches like Shakur’s last opponent, Yoshino, he would stand in the pocket and take long hits, but he can’t do that in this case.
Stevenson expects de los Santos to box
“His game plan is to come in here and outbox me. That’s what he plans to do. He thinks I don’t know it, but I know it. “There is,” Shakur said.
De Los Santos may box Shakur the same way he did his last opponent, Joseph Adorno. He’s still going to unload a lot of heavy artillery. Even while boxing Adorno, de los Santos was peppering him with killer punches in every round.
Many of the punches Edwin threw in this fight would knock out most lightweights, and would probably do the same for Shakur. If there is a report of Shakur gets knocked out by Liam Palo That’s true in sparring, but De Los Santos has similar power and would be a real threat.
Shakur wouldn’t want to get hit flush by De Los Santos if he just got brutally knocked out by Palo. Unless the knockout is too bad for Shakur, he should be fine for this fight, but he’s going to have to be careful throughout.
Shakur reacted to hearing that De Los Santos had said that Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney were better fighters than him, saying, “When he says things like that, it’s crazy to me.” I’m trying to get into it,” he said. “He can say whatever he wants. Thursday, he’s going to meet me. That’s it.”
De Los Santos said he felt Haney and Tank Davis were better fighters than Shakur, and his expression looked as serious as a heart attack. Needless to say, Tank is the better fighter as he has the power of a welterweight and can box well when needed.
Devin Haney is more versatile than Shakur and doesn’t run away from opponents to win games. He is an expert in boxing and punching, neutralizing his opponent’s attacks.
“Thursday night, me and Edwin will get in the ring and we’re going to screw him,” Shakur said. “I think it’s a distracting fight because I’m supposed to fight Lomachenko,” Shakur said of Emmanuel Navarrete’s desire to fight Lomachenko next.
“First it’s Edwin, but next it should be Lomachenko. That’s the big fight and the fight that should happen next. He’s one of the best two fighters to face in this division,” Shakur said. He said he wanted Lomachenko.
