Shakur Stevenson is a man in the boxing news a lot at the moment but the US boxer has technical mistakes he makes that can be exposed.
Many of them.
Not only technical boxing errors he makes, but other weaknesses he has as well.
For one, he is very insecure as a boxer and a man outside of boxing and his mental strength is very questionable.
Any timeshe is put under pressure to make fights from spectators around the world online he reacts with anger and emotion online.
Not professional and easy to take advantage of.
This is something that his opponents can easily use against him in the build-ups to their fights with him.
Earlier on for instance, he went on another rant on the X app, formerly Twitter, about how he has always being boxing bigger boxers his whole life.
In the ring he is very astute defensively as a fighter though — is the Newark southpaw.
The 29-year-old American fighter is quite difficult to hit at many ranges when he tries to impose his fight on his opponents.
He is the classic counter puncher who waits for his opponents to come to him who tends to keep a high guard.
You can’t walk straight to him though or stand off him at long distance too much.
He is actually quite effective at long range and inside in the pocket.
But if you look at where Mexican William Zepeda caught him a lot in their fight there is something to learn.
Zepeda had some success at middle range when he was closing the distance down with both the jab and straight punches.
Like Stevenson, he was a southpaw but the same can be applied with orthodox fighters.
You can’t let him establish the centre of the ring as well and you have to take the fight to him right from round one.
And try to get that range right at middle distance that he sometimes doesn’t like boxing at.
Straight shots over the shoulder and educated pressure like Zepeda showed works on him.
But Zepeda was coming forward too much in straight lines and there needs to be feints and head movement closing the distance on him.
More footwork as well.
Stevenson’s career best win to date was Teofimo Lopez by UD on points last time out but his chin has never really been tested yet.
By a big puncher at 147 pounds or around there near that weight.
Also, on the technical front, some more things on him.
Look at how Cuban Robeisy Ramírez dealt with Shakur Stevenson in the amateurs back in the Olympics in 2016.
Cuban Robeisy Ramírez defeated him in a close points affair but he had educated pressure and used much more footwork than Zepeda did.
He came forward at the right time. Not always trying to walk Stevenson down.
You don’t need to do this to get to him.
Maybe around 60 per cent of the time is enough to fluster him a bit on that front.
Stevenson can be very effective at parrying jabs from long distance and he is solid at covering up wide hooks it should be noted.
But there is plenty of opportunity to go to the body of Shakur Stevenson.
This is professional boxing and it is surprising that many have not tested his body with shots to the side or straight down the middle to the body as well.
With that high guard sometimes he is wide open to single or even combinations attacks in body shots.
That high guard can easily be teased by clever feints or even throwing light shots to distract him as setting up a trap for him.
But he does not always keep a high guard either.
That left glove of him is usually always high as his main punch as a southpaw but sometimes he drops the right hand lower than he should.
Again, some effective combinations at middle distance with straight combinations, not wide shots, when his right hand is low, can work well on him.
Also when Shakur Stevenson gets off his own combinations on the outside or on the inside, and when he steps off, opportunity is here.
Often times he does not step off to the side like he should after rattling off his combinations.
Sometimes he just moves backwards in too much of a straight line and switches off moments after getting off his combinations and trying to move away.
He has been nailed in the amateurs for this and can be in the pros as well.
Those moments right when he tries to step back and get out of the way right after throwing his combinations, he can be countered there.
Also, on him carring that right hand low as well, it can be very low at times.
There is some more opportunity there for a left hook expert to set up a big left hook on him.
Set up with feints or body attacks or as part of combinations — before landing a left hook over that low right hand at times.
Sometimes as well Shakur Stevenson after getting his combinations off goes into a shell like defense where he ducks his head directly down looking at the ground.
This is an immediate reaction of his going back to the amateur days but there is a gap there right up the middle for a big uppercut at times when he does this.
He doesn’t do it for long, maybe a second or so, but that is enough time if he is not looking at his opponent directly.
When he is looking straight down at the ground cupping his guard where there is a slight gap right in the middle of the guard.
To come up through the middle with the uppercut at him.
Shakur Stevenson is far from unbeatable and is far from the leader of the new generation in boxing like he says.
Let’s see him try to fight big and dangerous fights first like Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia, Jaron Ennis, Sebastian Fundora and others.
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