Legendary college football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant was credited with the famous phrase “defense wins championships” and that motto has spread across multiple sports since he uttered those legendary words.
For Shakur Stevenson, 24, those words are exactly why he is a two-division world champion aiming to unify his WBO super featherweight title against WBC champion Oscar Valdez on April 30.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) February 16, 2022
But as anyone who follows sports knows, great defense also leads to tremendous offense. That transition is what Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) displayed when he dominated and ultimately stopped Jamel Herring to violently seize the WBO title from him last October. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist prides himself on his boxing IQ and his ability to turn defense into offense.
If you ask Stevenson, no one possesses the ring IQ and technical prowess that he does.
MORE: Shakur Stevenson vs. Oscar Valdez fight date, start time, card, price and odds
“I try to make every fighter pay for their mistakes,” Stevenson tells Sporting News before Saturday’s fight. “That is my game plan for every fight. I want to dominate. But to dominate you have to capitalize on people’s mistakes and that’s exactly what I plan to do to Valdez.”
That’s probably why Stevenson could be seen smiling to himself during Thursday’s pre-fight press conference when he overheard Valdez suggest he would box him if the fight called for it.
“With Shakur you never know,” Valdez said. “We can punch if we have to punch or we can box if we have to box. It all depends on what Shakur brings to the table.”
It didn’t take long for Stevenson to ignore Valdez.
“I think that’s BS,” he replied.
Valdez has been known for his pressure and offensive prowess. For much of his career, Valdez has been an offensive giant who can overwhelm opponents before eliminating them with a devastating knockout. The expectation is that Valdez plays to his strengths against Stevenson and the young champion believes his opponent’s suggestion to the contrary is simply an attempt to get into his head.
“He’s experienced and he’s been a champion for a long time, so he knows how to play with a fighter’s head,” says Stevenson. “They have their opponent thinking about one thing, but they go out and do something else. But you’re not going to fool me into thinking it’s going to be a technical boxing match on his side.”
Stevenson is smart enough at his young age to sniff out cheating both in and out of the ring. Whatever Valdez decides to do, Stevenson is ready. But if his enemy believes for a second that he can outmatch him, he’s in for a rude awakening on Saturday.
“Even if he tried to box technically for three or four rounds with me, he would end up low on the scorecards,” he says. “And then he’ll go back to what he knows by improvising and trying to turn it into a fight.”
Stevenson treats boxing as art. He takes his time to paint the picture of himself with every move, strike and tactical decision, an intentional choice, all carefully crafted brushes on one canvas. He is never in a hurry and will not allow anyone to rush him through his work in shaping his art. Once he deciphers the portrait he will paint, there has yet to be a single fighter on the boxing landscape capable of stopping him.
And it’s only getting better.
Here’s a scary stat:
According to Compubox, Stevenson has beaten his opponents in 43 consecutive rounds and has been beaten only once in 103 career rounds. If that sounds absurd, that’s because it is. Of course, comparisons to defensive greats like Floyd Mayweather and Pernell Whittaker follow him wherever he goes, but Stevenson aims to carve out his own lane. But the parallels are fitting as both Mayweather and Whittaker were recognized as all-time greats.
And then there’s the theatrical aspect that Stevenson brings, which helps establish him as the boxing superstar he thinks he’s destined to be.
Stevenson talks a lot and backs it up. Everything comes with a little sparkle to keep us entertained. Whether it’s his impromptu banter or his walk around the ring, Stevenson is here to entertain.
Before his one-sided destruction of Jamel Herring, Stevenson garnered social media attention with a walk alongside Quavo of the rap group Migos. Knowing how important it is to entertain both in and out of the ring, the champion tells SN that he plans to go viral with his entrance on Saturday night.
“Oh, I have someone special, but I can’t tell you yet,” she says with a smile. “You have to wait and see.”
As well as his lauded defensive prowess, Stevenson looks to capitalize on any and all opportunities as they present themselves.
“It’s a moment and you have to take advantage of all these moments,” he says. “I want to look back on my life and know that I did some amazing things. I feel like walking with artists and filling stadiums is amazing.”
Why?
“Because I’m a superstar.”
Reference-www.sportingnews.com