WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) insists that Turki Alalshikh wants to make the fight between him and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis following Shakur’s three-knockdown, ninth-round technical knockout victory over his little-known backup opponent Josh Padley (15-1, 4 KOs) on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
Weak Opponent
It was target practice or Shakur tonight, as he was landing jabs and power shots at will against Padley. In the sixth, Stevenson re-injured his surgically repaired left hand and was mostly forced to fight with just his right the rest of the way. Three rounds later, Shakur dropped Padley three times in round nine, and his corner had the fight stopped.
Brought in as a replacement opponent, Padley showed no power or speed in the fight and was unable to offer much competition against Stevenson. Padley did land on shots because Stevenson was fighting more aggressively than he normally does because he was facing a weak puncher in a situation where his back was against the wall. He needed an impressive performance to strengthen his position of deserving a big payday fight against Tank Davis.
The big question is whether Turki will want to spend a lot of money on a fight between Shakur and Tank after tonight’s performance. There are more exciting fighters with better talent at lightweight who would be better options.
Shakur looked very average against an easy opponent that most top 15-level fighters at lightweight would have destroyed in three rounds. He wants credit for an easy fight and is hoping that Turki will line up a big payday against Tank that he doesn’t deserve.
“Turki wants to make the fight, too. Once again, it’s the biggest fight in boxing,” said Shakur to the media after his win over Padley tonight. “He want it. I want it. Now, its all up to Tank,” continued Shakur.
“It means everything,” said Shakur when told that Terence Crawford called him his ‘little brother. “I’m an elite-level fighter. I’m on the highest skill level. I’ve got my brothers coming here to support me. I can listen to him a little bit more because he knows what he’s talking about.”
