Stevenson vs De Los Santos reportedly agreed for Nov. 16

Edwin De Los Santos defeated Jose Valenzuela and Joseph Adorno in his last two fights

Edwin De Los Santos was champing at the bit for a shot at Shakur Stevenson even before Stevenson’s fight with Frank Martin collapsed, and unlike some of his contemporaries, he’s putting his money where his mouth is. Mike Coppinger reports that De Los Santos and Stevenson have agreed to atop a November 16th ESPN show in Las Vegas.

That’s a Thursday, for the record.

De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KO) is technically behind William Zepeda in the WBC rankings, but Zepeda’s busy with Mercito Gesta this Saturday and probably wouldn’t be keen on a two-month turnaround for the biggest fight of his life.

While it’s obviously not the major fight that Stevenson’s (20-0, 10 KO) talents merit, I’m honestly alright with it considering the circumstances. De Los Santos looked sharp in his knockout of Jose Valenzuela and subsequent near-sweep of Joseph Adorno. This is obviously a gargantuan step up in class, but he wanted the fight, is the heaviest hitter Stevenson’s faced as a pro, and is young enough for this to be a learning experience rather than a brick wall.

I’m not saying De Los Santos will beat Stevenson or even really push him, but I don’t think any lightweight beats Stevenson, and at least De Los Santos is willing to step up and make a fight of it. He deserves praise for that.

Now we just need to get through the next two months without any more shenanigans.