Shakur Stevenson showed that there’s levels to boxing by battering and stopping Shuichiro Yoshino in the sixth.
Yoshino, who had entered the ring undefeated and with 12 knockouts from 16 wins, was the first lightweight test for Stevenson, who previously moved up a division after failing to make the 130lb limit against Robson Conceicao back in September of 2022.
He has now successfully kicked off his campaign to become a three-weight world champion, having done so at featherweight and super featherweight before now.
In many ways, the Japanese fighter was the perfect opponent for Stevenson – he simply kept coming forward and was knocked down in the second and fourth rounds for his troubles.
Shakur just SAT HIM DOWN 🍿 pic.twitter.com/KkY8QLwlqc
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) April 9, 2023
A master of the space around him, Stevenson is a punishing fighter when opponents come ahead, both by making them miss and peppering them with well-timed shots. There has been questions of power beforehand, but it seemed more than enough pop to wake Yoshino up and ultimately end things.
There are LEVELS to this.
And @ShakurStevenson is showing it tonight 🌟 pic.twitter.com/XsQBkpNHWe
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) April 9, 2023
The stoppage may have been early, but it was as one-sided as it gets.
BRING ON THE CHAMP 🏆@ShakurStevenson is ready to hunt for more belts. #ShakurYoshinopic.twitter.com/kdWqxNjtn9
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) April 9, 2023
Speaking post-fight, he told ESPN he was just getting started, and called out Undisputed Lightweight Champion, Devin Haney.
“He felt my power. I sat down on a couple punches – dropped. Honestly, I wanted the ref to let it go on a little bit longer. I’d just caught my second wind. I was gonna put him out. I was gonna stretch him.
“Just tell all the other lightweights get ready. I can’t wait for them to finish the fights they’ve got going on, and then it’s my turn.”
“Tell [Haney] to come on. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I swear to God. Me and Devin have been in the ring with each other for years. I always got the best of Devin.”
He’s now first in line for a shot at Haney’s WBC title, meaning he’ll get a shot at the three others, too. So it seems Stevenson’s next fight will be determined by how the champion fares against Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20.
The question of how Shakur Stevenson performs at the higher weight has now been answered conclusively, but there was never really any doubt.