WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) scored a ninth-round TKO of fringe contender Josh Padley (15-1, 4 KOs) on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Padley was down three times in the ninth round from body shots before his corner threw in the towel. It was a good decision because he had no chance. Shakur was teeing off on him in the ninth without any fear of anything of power being thrown back at him.
Despite being overmatched and underpowered for the assignment, Padley fought courageously throughout, fighting off Shakur at times.
This is NOT the type of performance that Shakur needed to increase his chance of getting a fight against Gervonta Davis. He needs to go back to the drawing board and see if he can find someone else.
“Yeah, I’m happy with it. I did what I was supposed to do. I barely got touched. I barely got hit. I landed combinations in spots, and I took care of business. I showed levels to this game,” said Shakur Stevenson to the media after his victory over Padley tonight.
“I got to keep working and keep getting better at it,” said Shakur when asked about his left hand that he appeared to injure during the fight tonight. “In my downtime, I got to take care of it. I got to find the best of the best doctors in the world, and once I do, everything is going to be okay.
“Did you see me switch orthodox out there? ‘Boom!'” said Shakur, talking about switching from his southpaw stance to orthodox to stop Padley with body shots in the ninth. “For sure,” said Stevenson when asked if he was happy with his performance.
“He was tough. He took some good shots and tried to give some good shots back. He just couldn’t land. He’s a good fighter,” said Stevenson about Padley. “He’s supposed to do that,” said Shakur when told that Gervonta David Tweeted “LOL” when Eddie Hearn called him out for a fight against Shakur next. “
He’s fighting Lamont Roach next week. Let’s see what he do. I don’t think it’s going to be an easy fight. Yes,” said Shakur when asked if he thinks Lamont Roach can beat Tank Davis. “Lamont Roach is a good fighter. So, he better shut up and stay focused.”
