EYES ON THE PRIZE
Stevenson sets his sights on the WBO superfeatherweight title after outclassing Clary, writes Paul Wheeler
IN a 10-round super-featherweight bout inside Top Rank’s Bubble at the MGM Grand, Shakur Stevenson utterly dominated Toka Kahn Clary, posting a shutout unanimous decision over his fellow southpaw.
After becoming the WBO featherweight king in October 2019, the coronavirus pandemic, and subsequent sporting shutdown, resulted in the cancellation of Stevenson’s scheduled first defence, which had been set for March this year. When the sport resumed in June, albeit behind closed doors, Stevenson shed some rust by knocking out the overmatched Felix Caraballo in six rounds up at super-feather. The following month, the 23-year-old decided to vacate his 126lb title in order to become a fully fledged 130-pounder.
Providence’s Clary came into the contest on the back of three straight wins, but the tough Rhode Islander was no match for the unbeaten Stevenson. Not only did the Newark, New Jersey native avoid the vast majority of what Clary threw at him, he also peppered the 28-year-old with sharp jabs, spiteful body shots and rapid-fire combinations.
It was a near-flawless performance from one of boxing’s hottest young properties, resulting in three identical scorecards of 100-90 from judges Lisa Giampa, Dave Moretti and Don Trella. Kenny Bayless refereed.
After the fight, Stevenson declared that he wants to challenge for the WBO belt next, which is currently held by Jamel Herring, who is due to defend against Carl Frampton in early 2021. The 2016 Olympic silver medallist also stated that WBC titlist Miguel Berchelt is on his hit list for the future.
On the undercard at lightweight, Tokyo’s long and lean Masayoshi
Nakatani scored a thrilling upset victory over Puerto Rico’s 2012 Olympian Felix
Verdejo. Nakatani was floored in the first and fourth rounds, but the Japanese scrapper bounced back with a vengeance to record two knockdowns of his own in the ninth, leading referee Celestino Ruiz to halt matters at 1-45. It had been slated for 10. At the time of the finish, Verdejo was ahead on all three cards.
Much was expected of Verdejo when he turned professional eight years ago, but the talented San Juan man has come up short so far in his career. Meanwhile, Nakatani’s reputation continues to grow, having also given current pound-forpounder Teofimo Lopez a good fight during a unanimous points defeat in July last year. Gifted Cuban portsider Robeisy
Ramirez made it five victories out of five in 2020 with a sixth-round stoppage of spirited Colombian youngster
Brandon Valdes.
Two-time Olympic champion Ramirez, who overcame Stevenson in the 2016 final, chipped away at Valdes with jabs and left-hand counters. The Barranquilla underdog had a point deducted for a low blow in round six, but this was soon to be rendered immaterial by Ramirez. The Gulfport, Florida-based featherweight unleashed a vicious salvo of hooks and uppercuts that compelled referee Russell Mora to wave things off at 2-49. In another eight-rounder that ended inside time, rising New Yorker Edgar Berlanga extended his remarkable record of first-round wins. San Diego’s Ulises Sierra had gone the distance with undefeated contender Vladimir Shishkin over 10 in January, but the Californian could only last 2-40 against Berlanga. The power-punching super-middleweight clubbed Sierra to the canvas with a sequence of clumping rights, before forcing a second count after another bludgeoning barrage. When a thudding left hook drove Sierra down again, referee Mora terminated proceedings. Incredibly, all 16 of Berlanga’s bouts have been won in the opener.
THE VERDICT Stevenson will be watching the Herring-frampton fight with keen interest.