‘Beast!’: Pros react to Shakur’s destructive lightweight debut
Shakur Stevenson had his way against Shuichiro Yoshino on Saturday.
Shakur Stevenson’s lightweight debut couldn’t have gone much better, as he destroyed Shuichiro Yoshino and forced a sixth round stoppage.
The win came in a WBC eliminator, too, meaning Stevenson (20-0, 10 KO) is right in line for a shot at the Devin Haney vs Vasiliy Lomachenko winner after their May 20 fight.
Stevenson is on record saying he thinks Haney will win that fight, and says he’s ready for the challenge.
“Tell him to come on,” Shakur told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna after the fight. “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.”
There wasn’t a ton of chatter about the bout on social media, being honest, but ex-champ Zab Judah did call Stevenson a “beast,” Shakur’s old amateur rival Robeisy Ramirez had praise for him, and Jamel Herring said he was having flashbacks of his own loss to Shakur while watching the fight, noting he didn’t envy Yoshino.
Shakur I Beast !!! #ShakurStevenson
— ZAB JUDAH 6x Champ! (@SUPERJUDAH) April 9, 2023
@ShakurStevenson looked very sharp tonight in his lightweight debut. Congrats man!
— Robeisy Ramirez (@RobeisyRamirez) April 9, 2023
Me right now having flashbacks of my fight against, Shakur… I don’t envy Yoshino.@trboxing #StevensonYoshino pic.twitter.com/MswNrtsrGg
— Jamel Herring (@JamelHerring) April 9, 2023
@ShakurStevenson once again doing his thing with patience, precision and power. He continues his march towards being the complete fighter which will be fun to watch. #ShakurStevenson #boxing #toprankboxing
— James Smitty Smith (@SmittyBoxing) April 9, 2023