Shakur Stevenson Faces New Pressure Along With A New Opponent On Historic Riyadh Season Card

All eyes on Stevenson: A must-win showcase on boxing’s biggest stage.

Shakur Stevenson on March 7, 2024. / IMAGO / Torsten Helmke

Shakur Stevenson is set to face Britain’s Josh Padley on a historic Riyadh Season card that will feature six world title fights in the biggest boxing card of this century.

Stevenson was set to fight Floyd Schofield until the latter withdrew from the fight for health reasons. Schofield is an exciting prospect and just 22-years-old.  

In step Josh Padley. Padley is also an electrician who is getting the opportunity of a lifetime. Yet, the pressure is on Stevenson to deliver an electric performance. For many in boxing, Shakur Stevenson has the potential to be the future face of the sport at the lower weight classes.

MORE: Who Is Josh Padley? Everything About Shakur Stevenson’s New Opponent

Stevenson is either a defensive wizard or overly cautious according to various boxing pundits. Against opponents like Oscar Valdez, Robson Conceicao, Edwin De Los Santos, and Artem Harutyunyan – Stevenson has at times drawn criticism .

Valdez, for instance, was an undefeated champion before facing Stevenson. Brazil’s Conceicao, an Olympic gold medalist is a tough customer for any fighter. Edwin De Los Santos and Artem Harutyunyan were full-time fighters.

To be fair, each of these opponents were a cut above Padley who won a regional title in the United Kingdom in 2023. Paddley is a late replacement and is likely working on shedding weight rather than strategy.

Against Padley, Stevenson can’t afford to play with his food. Padley has only four KOs on his record, whereas Stevenson is seen as top 15 in the world in the sport. The pressure is on Stevenson to make this fight the mismatch it appears on paper and to show he deserves the attention of fight fans as one of the greats of this era.

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