BoxRec

Source: Shakur Stevenson to head June 12 card on ESPN; Jeremiah Nakathila likely opponent

Shakur Stevenson will headline a June 12 card on ESPN in New York City, a source told ESPN.

The opponent is not finalized yet and might not be until following the Carl Frampton-Jamel Herring April 3 WBO junior lightweight title bout, but it most likely will be South African Jeremiah Nakathila (21-1, 17 KOs), according to a source. The WBO's No. 2 contender, Nakathila is on a 10-fight winning streak, all by knockouts.

Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs), the WBO's No. 1 contender, has been waiting for a title opportunity since moving up to the junior lightweight division. He last fought in December, beating Toka Kahn Clary by unanimous decision, and his promoter, Top Rank, doesn't want to delay his return any longer.

Stevenson is expected to face the winner of the Frampton-Herring fight, a bout that has faced multiple delays in the past few months. Although a June bout with Frampton or Herring hasn't been ruled out, it would be a very tight turnaround to have them return to the ring just over two months later.

If a quick turnaround can't be made, Stevenson could end up fighting the Frampton-Herring winner in his next bout in the fall.

Rising super middleweight prospect Edgar Berlanga is expected to be on that card in his first 10-round bout, a source told ESPN, assuming he comes out clean of his April 24 bout against Demond Nicholson.

Berlanga's April and tentative June bouts are expected to be a step up in competition for an exciting prospect who has ended all of his fights by first round knockout. There's a shared desired to get Berlanga more rounds in 2021 as he continues his development.

The June 12 card will take place on Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend, which holds significance to Stevenson, whose late father was Puerto Rican.

Jose Pedraza-Julian Rodriguez To Meet in Stevenson-Nakathila Co-feature, June 12

Top Rank has decided that unbeaten up-and-comer Julian “Hammer Hands” Rodriguez is ready to step up in competition.

So, Rodriguez will face the stiffest test of his career when he squares off with former two-division world titleholder Jose “Sniper” Pedraza in a 10-round junior welterweight bout on June 12, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told BS.

The fight will serve as the co-feature of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card headlined by former featherweight titlist Shakur Stevenson taking on Jeremiah Nakathila for the vacant WBO interim junior lightweight title at the Virgin Hotels – the newly refurbished Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – in Las Vegas.

“We think it’s a really good fight,” Arum said to Boxing Scene. “It’s a fight that (Top Rank vice president) Carl (Moretti) and the matchmakers (Brad ‘Abdul’ Goodman and Bruce Trampler) came up with. They are two fighters who will go at it.”

Initially, the co-feature of the Stevenson-Nakathila was slated to include red-hot super middleweight prospect Edgar Berlanga (17-0, 16 KOs), who dropped Demond Nicholson four times en route to a one-sided eight-round decision win in the co-feature of Saturday night’s Top Rank card in Kissimmee, Florida. However, with Berlanga’s girlfriend due to give birth to their baby close to the fight date and the show being moved from New York – where the popular ticket seller Berlanga is from – to Las Vegas due to the coronavirus pandemic the decision was made to have Berlanga return later in the summer or early fall.

That cleared the spot for Pedraza-Rodriguez, a fight that has been on Top Rank’s drawing board for the past couple of months.

The 31-year-old Pedraza (28-3, 13 KOs), of Puerto Rico, has won two fights in a row since a unanimous 10-round decision loss to junior welterweight contender Jose Zepeda in September 2019. Since then, Pedraza has won a pair of 10-round decisions against former junior welterweight world title challenger Mikkel LesPierre and 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina.

Pedraza’s only other losses came when he lost his junior lightweight title by seventh-round knockout to Gervonta “Tank” Davis in January 2017 and when he lost his lightweight title by one-sided unanimous decision in a unification fight with Vasiliy Lomachenko in December 2018.

Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs), 26, of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, will be taking a significant step up in the level of his opposition by facing Pedraza.

Rodriguez has been active since coming back from a nearly two-year injury-induced layoff in 2017. Since returning in July 2019, Rodriguez has won five fights, four coming by knockout. Most recently, Rodriguez knocked out Jose Eduardo Lopez Rodriguez in the third round on the undercard of unified bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue’s defense against Jason Moloney on Oct. 31 inside the bubble of the conference center at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Top Rank needs to start getting Shakur some better fights or he is going to end up the next Bud Crawford.

agree, clearly he is way beyond these types of guys. not an interesting fight at all

To be a guy that's hyped to the moon they sure don't get this guy fights anyone gives a sh*t about do they?

gilgamesh wrote: ↑30 Apr 2021, 14:37 To be a guy that's hyped to the moon they sure don't get this guy fights anyone gives a sh*t about do they?

TR need to start making serious offers to decent opponents.

I ain’t heard of half these guys they put their boxers in with..

Is this flyweight? Is JCM a fly or super fly..

Unification

these guys are 130, much heavier than jcm

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑30 Apr 2021, 19:05 these guys are 130, much heavier than jcm

I meant to post that on the RBR thread

Team Nakathila Excited, Promise ‘Explosive’ Fight Against Stevenson

Jeremiah Nakathila and his team praise the WBO’s decision on sanctioning an interim title fight between him and mandatory challenger Shakur Stevenson.

The two top-rated contenders will headline a show promoted by Top Rank on June 12 at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As it has been well-reported by BS.com, the WBO decided to offer the interim title fight after reigning champion Jamel Herring chose to hold on to his title following his brilliant victory over Carl Frampton back in April.

The hard-hitting Nakathila (21-1, 17 KOs) and his team have been vocal about their frustration towards the sanctioning organization because of the delay of a title opportunity, which has now understandably transformed into an appreciation with the bout being officially announced.

“Team Nakathila is very excited. Namibia and the African continent is very excited that the opportunity that Nakathila deserved for so long will now finally materialize,” stated the Namibian fighter’s promoter, Nestor Tobias to BS.com.

“We have been pushing for this fight for over three years and it was of course delayed because [Oscar] Valdez and Stevenson moved up from featherweight and in both instances, they took Nakathila’s spot.”

Tobias refers to a special rule by the WBO that allows its champions to call out and fight instantly a fellow titlist of a different division, jumping ahead of all the contenders of such category. Unfortunately, Nakathila happened to be the victim of this rule on back-to-back occasions when Oscar Valdez and later Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs) himself abandoned the 126-pound version of the World Boxing Organization title and targeted the belt one division north.

The Namibians, though, waited for their turn, and now looks to make the most of it come fight night.

“It is Jeremiah’s time to shine now, and we finally have an opportunity to show the world what we have in store for them, a fighter that will dominate this division for a very long time,” Tobias said.

“I am really excited about the opportunity. You know I have been waiting for years to finally get this opportunity, but I am happy that we are where we are now, and I will make the most of this opportunity. Every boxer’s dream to fight at the highest level in boxing. I have come full circle from amateur level and have proven myself worthy of a world title opportunity,” described Nakathila.

The always confident Namibian promoter believes his fighter has what it takes to give a great performance despite being the underdog against Stevenson.

“We know exactly how we will take care of him come June 12. This will be an explosive fight for as long as it lasts, and we hope to give boxing fans the fight they deserve. We have always gone into big fights as underdogs, and it is a position we enjoy until after the fight.”

Undercard Press Release

The leader of Puerto Rico’s new wave, 18-year-old welterweight Xander Zayas, is not wasting time. Zayas, who scored one-sided victories in February and April, returns Saturday, June 12 in a six-rounder against “Lethal” Larry Fryers at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on the undercard of the WBO interim junior lightweight title bout between Shakur Stevenson and Jeremiah Nakathila.

In his first bout in more than 18 months, Toledo-born junior lightweight Tyler McCreary hopes to get back on the winning track against veteran spoiler Manuel Rey Rojas in an eight-rounder.

Zayas-Fryers and McCreary-Rojas will be among the undercard bouts streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. Stevenson-Nakathila and the 10-round junior welterweight duel between Jose “Sniper” Pedraza and Julian “Hammer Hands” Rodriguez will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

Promoted by Top Rank, tickets starting at $50 are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting Etix.com.

Born in San Juan and now residing in South Florida, Zayas (8-0, 6 KOs) won 11 national titles as an amateur and has five first-round knockouts since turning pro shortly after his 17th birthday in October 2019. He has stepped up the competition in 2021, shutting out James Martin over six rounds in February and knocking out Demarcus Layton in 56 seconds in April on the Emanuel Navarrete-Christopher Diaz undercard. Fryers (11-3, 4 KOs), an Irishman who now calls New York home, is a five-year pro. Last June, he dropped an eight-round decision to undefeated prospect John Bauza inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble.

McCreary (16-1-1, 7 KOs) last fought in November 2019 in a co-feature bout against former two-weight world champion Carl “The Jackal” Frampton, but he was dropped twice en route to a one-sided decision defeat. He made his Top Rank debut in March 2019 and looks to turn the page against Rojas (20-5, 6 KOs), a native of Dallas, Texas, who lost a competitive decision to Toledo native and junior lightweight contender Albert Bell in April.

In other undercard action on ESPN+:

Puerto Rican junior welterweight prospect John “El Terrible” Bauza (14-0, 5 KOs) returns in an eight-rounder versus Christon Edwards (12-2, 6 KOs), a Houston native who has won six in a row.

In a battle of undefeated junior lightweights scheduled for six rounds, Bryan Lua (7-0, 3 KOs), a Robert Garcia-trained prospect from California’s Central Valley, will face Puerto Rico’s Frevian Gonzalez (4-0, 1 KO). Gonzalez and Lua each notched a pair of victories last year inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble.

Middleweight phenom Troy “Transformer” Isley (1-0), who shut out Bryant Costello in his pro debut in February, is back in a four-rounder against Philadelphia’s LaQuan Evans (4-1, 2 KOs), who has won three straight dating back to 2019.

Kasir “Mazzi” Goldston (2-0, 1 KO), an 18-year-old former U.S. amateur star from Albany, New York, will make his 2021 debut against Michigan native Maurice Anthony (3-1, 3 KOs) in a four-round welterweight tilt.

Welterweight prospect Jahi Tucker (3-0, 2 KOs), who hopes to follow promotional stablemates Jamel Herring and Joe Smith Jr. and become the next world champion from Long Island, will fight Ysrael Barboza (3-1-1, 3 KOs) in a four-rounder. Tucker turned heads in his last bout with a body shot knockout over Eric Rodriguez.

Fight Week!!

Maybe the headliner is close to a foregone conclusion, but at least we can count on a game performance from Nakathila, and he has stopped over 80% of his opponents. Never know. happens in boxing. Jeremiah is definitely not showing up to lose.

Pedraza v Rodriguez is legit. Pedraza is a test for anyone. If Rodriguez shines he catapults himself into the middle of the super competitive mix at LWW. And if Pedraza beats back the kid, he will get right back into it.

The LW/LWW space is the most interesting for me at the moment. Lots of sharks and blood in the water.

I think Stevenson is slightly over-hyped.

Not saying he isn't good..

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 Jun 2021, 11:12 I think Stevenson is slightly over-hyped.

Not saying he isn't good..

I think he is under hyped, but not saying he is amazing i just havent seen any hype... I hear nothing of him, didnt notice this fight was on till this week. being 130 not 135 his name is out of the convo. Obviously he has name recognition, his name is Shakur, but yea lots of Big 4 135lb chat, seems to shadow over the 130 division at the moment.

gregregegg wrote: ↑11 Jun 2021, 06:52

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 Jun 2021, 11:12 I think Stevenson is slightly over-hyped.

Not saying he isn't good..

I think he is under hyped, but not saying he is amazing i just havent seen any hype... I hear nothing of him, didnt notice this fight was on till this week. being 130 not 135 his name is out of the convo. Obviously he has name recognition, his name is Shakur, but yea lots of Big 4 135lb chat, seems to shadow over the 130 division at the moment.

Maybe I meant to say overrated..

I like Nakathila’s attitude/demeanor.

Bob Arum's Top Rank Present: Stevenson vs. Nakathila

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2021
Start Time: 10:00 pm ET (Main) | 6:30 pm ET (Prelims) | 3am UK (Main)
Location: Virgin Hotels - Las Vegas, NV
US TV: ESPN (Main)
UK TV: Sky Sports (Main)
Streaming: ESPN+

Main Card (ESPN+, ESPN & Sky Sports)

Vacant WBO Super Featherweight Championship
Shakur Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs) vs. Jeremiah Nakathila (21-1, 17 KOs)

10 Round Super Lightweight Bout
Jose Pedraza (28-3, 13 KOs) vss Julian Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs)


Prelims (ESPN+, 6:30 pm ET)

6 Round Welterweight Bout
Xander Zayas (8-0, 6 KOs) vs. Larry Fryers (11-3, 4 KOs)

8 Round Super Featherweight Bout
Tyler McCreary (16-1-1, 7 KOs) vs. Manuel Rey Rojas (20-5, 6 KOs)

8 Round Super Lightweight Bout
John Bauza (14-0, 5 KOs) vs. Christon Edwards (12-2, 6 KOs)

6 Round Super Featherweight Bout
Bryan Lua (7-0, 3 KOs) vs. Frevian Gonzalez (4-0, 1 KOs)

4 Round Middleweight Bout
Troy Isley (1-0, 0 KOs) vs. LaQuan Evans (4-1, 2 KOs)

4 Round Welterweight Bout
Jahi Tucker (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Ysrael Barboza (3-1-1, 3 KOs)

4 Round Super Lightweight Bout
Kasir Goldston (2-0, 1 KO) vs. Maurice Anthony (3-1, 3 KOs)

Main card has begun

Pedraza dominated Rodriguez. It was target practise for Pedraza. Switched stances, toyed with Rodriguez. Rodriguez retired on stool after the 8th.

A bloody awful bout. Another mismatched main event. There was a huge gap in levels. Nakathila didn't know what to do and didn't try much. Stevenson was outboxing Nakathila with a minimal effort. A totally boring affair, absolutely lackluster. And that goddamn foot fetish referee was annoying with that "Watch the feet" all night long. Snoozenson gotta have a real test.