Olympic medalist Shakur Stevenson faces his toughest test yet in his first shot at a title.
22-year-old Shakur Stevenson (12-0, 7 KOs) is a 2016 Olympic silver medalist at bantamweight and is one of American boxing’s brightest prospects. On Saturday in Reno, he fights for his first title (the vacant WBO featherweight belt) against the toughest test of his pro career in undefeated Joet Gonzalez (23-0, 14 KOs). The fight posters however assure us that this is much more than that, unlike any other prior fight in the history of prize fighting this one is PERSONAL. There is animosity between the two stemming from Stevenson dating Gonzalez’ sister, their days in the amateurs and differing accounts of a sparring session.
Drama aside, this should be a very good fight. Stevenson has lived up to the hype in his pro career so far, he is a slick southpaw outfighter, who uses good footwork and a blindingly fast jab and left straight to outbox opponents. He’s shown some chops on the inside against outmatched opposition but I don’t expect him to take the risk of going there willingly against Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is a very disciplined pressure fighter, closing the distance behind a high guard and battering them with accurate and powerful short punches. He’s been a pro since 2012 and is coming off two good stoppage wins. He should provide an excellent test of how Stevenson deals with a tough, experienced fighter in his prime that will try his hardest to get him to the ropes and beat him up and has the tools to do so.
The key will obviously be for Stevenson to keep Gonzalez away from him and outmaneuver him. I expect the fight to come down to the difference between a good fighter and a potentially great one and Stevenson to get a decision win. But Gonzalez will present him with some tough questions and how he answers them should be very interesting and telling about his future potential.
Most notable on the undercard is 2016 Olympian Mikaela Mayer (11-0, 4 KOs) in what should be a relatively easy fight against Alejandra Soledad Zamora (7-3, 1 KO).
Stevenson vs Gonzalez airs on ESPN+ on Saturday, October 26th at 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT with the preliminary card starting at 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT.
Main Card
Shakur Stevenson vs. Joet Gonzalez
Joshua Greer Jr. vs. Antonio Nieves
Mikaela Mayer vs. Alejandra Soledad Zamora
Preliminary Card
Albert Bell vs. Frank De Alba
Jason Sanchez vs. Adeilson Dos Santos
Andy Vences vs. Mark Bernaldez
Tyler McCreary vs. Matt Conway
Diego Elizondo vs. Jose Ceja
Wilfred Mariano vs. Trinity Lopez
Jared Anderson vs. Daniel Infante
Xander Zayas vs. Genesis Wynn