By: Hans Themistode
The taste of gold was satisfying to Shakur Stevenson but it wasn’t enough to placate his appetite for more.
The former 2016 Olympic silver medalist scored a decisive 10th round stoppage win this past weekend at State Farm Arena, in Atlanta Georgia against Jamel Herring.
After outboxing Herring in the early goings, Stevenson turned up the heat in the second half of their contest. The result was a devastating one for the former marine as he was sliced and diced several times over before ultimately succumbing to the relentless pressure of his man.
Stevenson flashed a bright grin as he strapped his newly won title around his waist. He cheesed even wider as he thought about mouthwatering matchups against the rest of the division’s titleholders. Although he opted to leave the 126-pound weight class with just one championship belt to his name, Stevenson refuses to move on from his second weight class without stripping every 130 pounder of their world title.
“I need every title at 130,” said Stevenson to Barak of DAZN following his victory. “At the end of the day, I need to be undisputed.”
In a perfect world, Stevenson will continue his undisputed journey with a unification showdown against WBC belt holder, Oscar Valdez. Stevenson has long called for the Mexican native to accept his callouts and meet him in the center of the ring. Valdez, to his credit, has continued to reiterate his willingness and desire to face Stevenson as well.
Despite both showing an interest in signing their names on the dotted line, a contest between the pair seems incredibly unlikely. Instead, promoter Bob Arum has revealed that a matchup between Valdez and 126-pound champion, Emanuel Navarrete, is the most likely route.
Whether Stevenson has his wish granted by facing Valdez next, is somewhat inconsequential in the immediate future as long as he faces the other titleholders at 130 pounds. In the grand scheme of things, the 24-year-old is simply gaining inspiration from another young, up-and-comer that etched his name in the history books with his own undisputed title run just last year.
“I saw Teofimo do it and I need that to happen for me too.”
