ATLANTA – Shakur Stevenson never understood why skeptics insist he is a finesse fighter incapable of displaying grit when necessary.
The unbeaten WBO junior lightweight champion is confident he disproved that theory by the way he approached Jamel Herring last month. Stevenson stood in the pocket for much of their 130-pound title bout and picked apart Herring in much more entertaining fashion than he soundly defeated Jeremiah Nakathila four months earlier in Las Vegas.
Stevenson sensed after implementing the largely safe strategy he employed against Nakathila that his critics considered him unwilling to engage. Namibia’s Nakathila (21-2, 17 KOs) is a harder puncher than Cincinnati’s Herring (23-3, 11 KOs), but the left-handed Herring is a more complete boxer who attempted to make the fourth defense of the WBO junior lightweight championship Stevenson took from him.
Nevertheless, Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) feels he proved a point to former two-division champ Timothy Bradley, who criticized him during ESPN’s telecasts for how he fought Nakathila, and others. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist basically beat up the 35-year-old Herring for nine-plus rounds, opened cuts over both of Herring’s eyes and prompted referee Mark Nelson to step between them halfway through the 10th round to mercifully end their scheduled 12-round championship match.
“I feel like I got dog in me,” Stevenson said during his post-fight press conference. “Like people gotta understand that, too. I’m from Newark, New Jersey. I always had dog in me. I don’t know why people always just think I don’t got no dog in me because I dominate and make it look easy. I got both sides in me. I could do both. I could box, I could fight. I’m more than just a boxer.”
The 24-year-old Stevenson acknowledged that Bradley’s criticism remained in the back of his mind once he entered the ring at State Farm Arena. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist was determined to demonstrate that he could do more than defend himself masterfully and score points while mostly boxing off of his back foot.
“Oh yeah, most definitely,” Stevenson said. “At the end of the day, that’s what I was thinking in the fight. I’m like, ‘Man, I’m not gonna back up.’ It was times when he tried to pick it up on me. I’m like, ‘OK, I’m still gonna stand here. I’m not gonna go nowhere. I’m gonna stand my ground and, when it’s time, I’m gonna pick it back up on him.’ ”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.