he is a pillow fisted fighter who has a good jab but is easy to land when you have arms as long as him... this guy at 135 will have his first losses... teofimo knocks him out
I'd disagree about him not being able to fight on the inside. He's an out boxer but from what I've seen he seems to know what to do on the inside when he does fight up close. Uses his forearm and shoulder to create space and distance from his opponent to work, knows how to clinch, uses his head, driving it in to an opponents throat/neck to control his opponent. Anyone looking top really press and pressure Stevenson will struggle to do so, because once they get close they will get pushed, pulled, manipulated and so will struggle to utilise their inside skills. I don't see anyone at 130lbs or even 135lbs being able to do this, it's only when he moves up and faces bigger stronger fighters who have the strength to not so easily be controlled inside. That's when I think we'll see Stevenson tested at 140lbs and above and when a pressure fighter maybe able to work inside enough to really test him.
lol at Pillow fisted why didn't Valdez walk through his punches - what held Valdez back? Did you look at his face after the fight?
He's very good. 130 is a weak division and has nothing to offer, so he need to unify and move up to 135. That's where all the killers all. I can see 5-6 guys in that weight class who will give him a tough fight, including Isaac Cruz.
Stevenson reminds me of Cory Spinks. He has some skills, but he never takes a chance in the ring, always defense-first. He seems to lack courage.
Theres a bit of a difference between losing a debatable decision to Valdez and absolutely dominating Valdez. Also, hes 33, and doesn't have the pro resume that Stevenson already has at 24. You dont really think he'd be getting the same hype do you?
Teo is going to 140 and Shakur would box circles around teo at 135. Shakur isn't Haney he far better and less flawed.
You know what it is, a lot of people are threatend by Shakur, they can see his talent but have to talk themselves into believing he is not that good and will struggle at 135. It's going to be fun seeing people eat their words when he moves up and dominate 135
Having long arms isn't tantamount to knowing how to use them. The whining really knows no end. It's reached hilarious levels. 'That guy has long arms! No fair!' Uh, this is why guys do endless rounds of sparring with as many types of guys as they can. This, just a few weeks after Sebastian Fundora largely threw away his considerable reach advantages in favor of mauling Erickson Lubin in a phone booth.
the guys on this forum spend their time hyping shakur for beating the slimmest boxer in the world named oscar valdez... his jab is great but he is exposed to being hit by another jab when he lands it... basically he throws the jab and hits backslide...double jab and sidestep that's it