It’s a Thursday night card headed by Stevenson vs De Los Santos this week at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, as Shakur Stevenson attempts to add a world title at a third weight to his collection, with the vacant WBC lightweight title on the line against Edwin De Los Santos.
Top Rank promote Stevenson vs De Los Santos, and you can see the bill on Sky Sports in the UK and ESPN in the USA.
Stevenson (20-0, 10KOs) has long been touted as a future great, and the former Olympic Silver medallist has made serene progress so far as a professional. The Newark favourite first became world champion in October 2019, widely outpointing Joet Gonzalez for the vacant WBO featherweight title, and he immediately moved up, winning three on the spin before taking the WBO strap at 130 pounds with a clinical tenth round stoppage of Jamel Herring in October 2021.
Six months later Stevenson added the WBC belt in another fine display, dropping Oscar Valdez en route to a clear points win, but dropped his titles on the scales before taking a unanimous verdict against Robson Conceicao last September. Stevenson was last out in April, making his lightweight debut in halting Shuichiro Yoshino in six rounds.
He now faces the unheralded Dominican De Los Santos (16-1, 14KOs) in a bid for gold at a third weight. The 24-year-old has lost once, a January 2022 split loss over eight to William Foster III, and he is on a run of three straight wins. He hasn’t been the championship distance though, and has been ten rounds once, in his last outing, a near-shutout of Joseph Adorno in July.
Prediction: I can’t see Stevenson slipping up here, as he hunts down the likes of Gervonta Davis and others, and he should turn back the challenge of De Los Santos inside the distance.
Co main event sees Stevenson’s old WBO super featherweight title is on the line, as Emanuel Navarrete (38-1, 31KOs) makes the second defence of his belt against Brazil’s Robson Conceicao (17-2, KO8).
Navarrete, already a two-weight world champion, won this title in February last year, stopping Liam Wilson in a thriller, and defended in a clear points win against Oscar Valdez.
Prediction: Conceicao has been spirited In recent world title losing efforts to Valdez and Shakur Stevenson, and he may well come up short here again, with a Navarrete win in the championship rounds a likely outcome.
Undercard action:
Brian Norman Jr (24-0, 19KOs) competes in his first ten rounder, and the welterweight can stop the light-punching Quinton Randall (13-0-1, 3KOs).
In eight rounders, bantamweight prospect Floyd Diaz (9-0, 3KOs) can take a points win against Max Ornelas (15-1-1, 5KOs), and at middleweight, Troy Isley (10-0, 4KOs) can score a stoppage win against Vladimir Hernandez (14-5. 6KOs).
In six round action, Abdullah Mason (10-0, 8KOs) can take care of Jose Cardenas (7-1, 5KOs) inside schedule at lightweight, and Emiliano Vargas (7-0, 6KOs) can do the same, also at lightweight, against Brandon Mendoza (6-2, 6KOs). At super middleweight, Giovanni Sarchioto (8-0, 7KOs) can win early against Lucas de Abreu (14-4, 11KOs). In heavyweight action, Jackson Murray (5-0, 4KOs) should halt Steven Torres (6-0-1, 6KOs) in a fun fight, and super lightweight novice Hugo Micallef (8-0, 1KO) should outpoint Sergio Obadai (6-1-1, 3KOs).
