Stevenson stops Herring in 10; Wins WBO Junior Lightweight Title

Shakur Stevenson became a two-division champion with an emphatic 10th round stoppage over reigning champion Jamel Herring to capture the WBO Junior Lightweight championship at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

Stevenson used his superior ability to dominate the action and systematically beat down of Herring.

In Round three, Herring started to swell under his left eye

In round 10, Herring was cut over the eight eye. In round 10, Stevenson landed about seven shots for which forced a referee stoppage at 1:30.

Zayas stops Karpency after 4

Xander Zayas remained undefeated with a stoppage over Dan Karpency after round four of a six-round junior middleweight fight.

Zayas, 153.2 lbs of San Juan, PR is now 10-0 with eight knockouts. Karpency, 153.2 lbs of Adah, PA is 9-4-1.

Ali Walsh stops Westley II in 3

The grandson of Muhammad Ali, Nico Ali Walsh scored his 2nd consecutive knockout with a third round stoppage over James Westley II in a scheduled four-round middleweight fight.

In round two, Ali Walsh dropped Westley with a hard right.

At the beginning of round three, Walsh dropped Westley again with a right and Westley’s corner waved the towel at 2:30.

ALi Walsh, 162 lbs of Las Vegas is 2-0 with two knockouts. Westley, 159.6 lbs of Toledo, OH is 1-1.

Evan Holyfield stopped Charles Stanford in round two of a scheduled six-round junior middleweight fight.

In round two, Holyfield landed a booming left hook that was followed by a right cross that sent Stanford down and his head bounced off the canvas as the fight was stopped at 30 seconds.

Holyfield, 151.6 lbs is the son of the legendary Evander Holyfield and now raised his record to 8-0 with six knockouts. Stanford, 151.6 lbs of Cincinnati, OH is 6-4.

2021 U.S. Olympian Troy Isley stopped Nicholi Navarro in the 1st round of their four-round middleweight fight.

Isley bounced Navarro all over the ring until He landed two hard uppercuts that put Navarro down and the fight was stopped at 2:48.

Isley, 156.8 lbs of Alexandria, VA is 3-0 with two knockouts. Navarro, 156 lbs of Denver, CO is 2-2.

Eric Palmer scored an upset six-round split decision over previously undefeated Roddricus Livsey in a junior welterweight bout.

Palmer, 141 lbs of Uniontown, PA won by scores of 58-56 twice, while Livesey took a card 59-55.

Palmer is 13-14-6. Livsey, 142.4 lbs of Atlanta is 8-1-1.

Haven Brady Jr. remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Roberto Negrete in a battle of undefeated featherweights.

Brady, 127 lbs of Albany, GA won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 4-0. Negrete, 127 lbs of Corpus Christie, TX is 3-1.

Antoine Cobb needed just 58 seconds to obliterate Jerrion Campbell in a four-round junior welterweight contest.

Cobb landed a booming right hand hat sent Campbell under the ropes and the fight was stopped.

Cobb, 144.2 lbs of Chicago was making his pro debut. Campbell, 142.4 lbs of Jacksonville, TX is 2-2

Harley Maderos won a four-round unanimous decision over Deljerro Randle in a lightweight fight.

In round one, Maderos dropped Ravello with a right hand.

Maderos, 136 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won on all cards 40-35 and is now 2-0. Randle, 135.8 lbs of Brighton, CO is 0-2.



Throwdown in A-Town: Jamel Herring and Shakur Stevenson Primed for Saturday’s Championship Clash

ATLANTA (Oct. 21, 2021)—They started as acquaintances, but once Jamel Herring acquired the belt Shakur Stevenson wanted, the friendly vibes went out the window. Herring will defend his WBO junior lightweight world title against former featherweight champion Stevenson on Saturday night from State Farm Arena in Atlanta (ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, 10:30 p.m. ET).

Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) has made three defenses of the title he won from Masayuki Ito in May 2019. Stevenson (16-0, 8 KOs), a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, is considered by many to be the heir to the pound-for-pound throne. He picked up the interim world title in June with a dominant decision over Jeremiah Nakathila.

When Herring and Stevenson had their final faceoff, the fighters and their teams exchanged verbal barbs, with Stevenson grabbing Herring’s belt on multiple occasions. They were separated and will resume the jawing at Friday’s weigh-in.

The ESPN main card will also feature Puerto Rican star Xander Zayas (10-0, 7 KOs) in a six-round junior middleweight bout against Dan Karpency, and the second pro bout for middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of “The Greatest.”
The ESPN+ undercard stream (7:30 p.m. ET) will showcase junior middleweight prospect Evan Holyfield (7-0, 5 KOs), son of Atlanta legend and former four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.

At Thursday’s final press conference, this is what the combatants had to say.

Jamel Herring
“The odds just play to my story. I’ve always been an underdog, not just in boxing but in life, so I don’t get into the oddsmaker thing. It doesn’t bother me at all.”

“It’s not personal, it’s just business. We’re building a fight is all it means to me. I’ve heard worse and been through worse. We’re just two top competitors in the division trying to prove who is the best.”

“It just feels like another elite level fight in a loaded and talented division, so we just take it one fight at a time. We put all personal feelings to the side and just go to work and do what we have to do.”

“Atlanta is cool. I have family out here. My sons live out here as well. It’s another home and it’s an honor just to be fighting in the State Farm Arena because there’s not a lot of fights coming into town, so whenever you can bring a special fight to a certain city, it’s always a great thing.”

Shakur Stevenson
“It means everything to me. This is my first time being able to go against a champion and being able to take a champion’s belt will mean a lot to me…. and I can’t wait to hear them say, “AND THE NEW!'”
“It’s definitely not personal, just business at the end of the day. He’s not my friend. I don’t hit him up and say, ‘let’s fight.'” We don’t have any conversations. I don’t talk to Jamel Herring outside of boxing.”

“It’s going to feel real good beating the whole team. I can’t wait to go against {Herring trainers Brian McIntyre and Red Spikes}. It’s not just Jamel that I’m fighting. I’ve got to beat Bomac and Red, and it’ll feel good doing that.”
“You’re going to see a special night, my coming out party. It’s going to be a great night, and he said he’s going to spoil the party, so let’s see if he can do it.”

Xander Zayas
“I’m grateful to be here. It’s just an amazing experience to be 19 years old making my ESPN debut. I’m ready to go, and on Saturday night, I’m going to show it. I like to have fun and keep it simple and smile for the camera.”
“I have a lot to learn from my last fight, but my team has made the proper adjustments and on Saturday night I’ll show that I can adjust to a lot of stuff. The main event is a great dance. You have two great boxers going toe to toe and I just wish that the best man wins.”

Nico Ali Walsh
“All of the greats say that the first fight is always the hardest. The first is out of the way, so it’s all fun from here on out. I love boxing, it’s my passion, and I’m looking forward to continuing my grandfather’s legacy and creating my own. After the first fight, you get used to it. I have the greatest people in my corner. I have SugarHill Steward and BB Hudson, so I’m very happy with the corner that I have, and if I could build anything off of my pro debut, it would be more off a jab and a cleaner right hand.”

Evan Holyfield
“It means absolutely everything to fight in my hometown. This is my second time fighting in Atlanta. It’s boxing, hit and don’t get hit, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to win whether I fight or box. My dad always tells me to train at my hardest. I’ve been real focused this training camp, and I’m just ready to go to work. It’s definitely like a kid in a candy store just being around all of this talent. It’s an honor. We got Xander Zayas, Shakur Stevenson, Jamel Herring, and Nico Ali. It’s nothing but greatness.”

SATURDAY, October 23, 2021
ESPN & ESPN Deportes (Simulcast on ESPN+), 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT
Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson, 12 rounds, Herring’s WBO Junior Lightweight World Title
Xander Zayas vs. Dan Karpency, 6 rounds, junior middleweight
Nico Ali Walsh vs. James Westley II, 4 rounds, middleweight

ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT
Evan Holyfield vs. Charles Stanford, 6 rounds, junior middleweight
Troy Isley vs. Nicholi Navarro, 4 rounds, middleweight
Roddricus Livsey vs. Eric Palmer, 6 rounds, junior welterweight
Haven Brady Jr. vs. Roberto Negrete, 4 rounds, featherweight
Antoine Cobb vs. Jerrion Campbell, 4 rounds, junior welterweight
Harley Mederos vs. Deljerro Revello, 4 rounds, junior lightweight