Stevenson: ‘Just tell all those other lightweights to get ready’

Undefeated former two-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs looked bigger, stronger, and dominated in his debut at 135 and secured his shot at the WBC lightweight title with a commanding sixth-round TKO against Japanese puncher Shuichiro Yoshino (16-1, 12 KOs) Saturday night in front of a hometown crowd at Newark’s Prudential Center.

Stevenson put on a show in front of 10,408 fans(Highest grossing boxing event in Prudential Center history). He stood toe-to-toe with Yoshino and ultimately broke him down.

After feeling each other out in the first round, Stevenson went to work in the second round as he dropped Yoshino, who questioned Stevenson’s power before the fight, with a short left hand; the Newark native would drop Yoshino again in the fourth with a beautiful three-punch combo.

“He felt my power,” Stevenson said. “I sat down on a couple punches and dropped him. Honestly, I wanted the ref to let it go on a little bit longer. I had just caught my second wind. I was going to put him out.

The 25-year-old was punishing Yoshino, and fortunately, referee Allen Huggins stopped the action at 1:35 of the sixth.

Stevenson is a problem for anybody at 135, including undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, who has a big fight with Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 in Las Vegas. 

“Just tell all those other lightweights to get ready,” Stevenson said. “I’m waiting for them. I can’t wait for them to finish the fights they’ve got going on, and then it’s my turn.

“Tell him [Devin Haney] to come on. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I swear to God. I’ve been waiting for that for a long time. Me and Devin been in the ring with each other for years. I always got the best of Devin. Tell him, ‘Come on.’”

Because of how gifted and difficult he is to fight, Stevenson will have a hard time getting fights. Many contenders at 135 had an opportunity to fight Stevenson, and they all passed. Expect that to continue after this performance from Stevenson.