Stevenson vs Yoshino Undercard: 2 Of Boxing’s Best Prospects Return To Action
Jared Anderson And Keyshawn Davis Step Up On The Stevenson vs Yoshino Undercard
Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) is looking to win a world title in a third weight division, after already winning titles at featherweight and super featherweight.
Like Stevenson, Shuichiro Yoshino (16-0, 12 KOs) has a perfect record. In his most recent fight back in November, he retained the WBO Asia Pacific lightweight title against Masayoshi Nakatani.
Yoshino is ranked in the top 15 of the WBC, WBO, and IBF rankings; he’s fourth in the WBC, seventh in the WBO, and 12th in the IBF.
Stevenson, aged 25, is five years younger than Yoshino, but he has some impressive names on his resume, including Jamel Herring and Oscar Valdez.
If he is to beat his Japanese opponent on Saturday, he will be set for a shot at the WBC lightweight Belt.
The fight on Saturday will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA. This is where Stevenson won his last fight back in September against Robson Conceicao. Stevenson came in one and a half pounds over the 130lbs limit and was therefore stripped of the WBC and WBO world title belts.
The 25-year-old had a stellar amateur career winning Silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Rio. He lost in the final on that occasion against Robeisy Ramirez representing Cuba. The Cuban was recently victorious against Isaac Dogboe to become a world champion at featherweight.
Stevenson vs Yoshino Main Card
In the co-feature, highly-touted prospect Jared Anderson (13-0, 13 KOs) faces fellow unbeaten George Arias (18-0, 7 KOs) over 10 rounds in the heavyweight division. Anderson from Toledo, Ohio, was Tyson Fury’s chief sparring partner and is expected to take from Fury as world champion in years to come.
Arias has a perfect record stretching over eight years in the professional scene with a career-best split-decision win over 21-0 Cassius Chaney in 2021. Although this represents a significant step up, the matchmaking is smart as Arias hasn’t recorded a stoppage in his last six bouts which means the power will not be an issue for the 23-year-old Anderson on Saturday.
In the ESPN triple header opener, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (7-0, 5 KOs) faces Sandor Martin-conqueror, Swedish southpaw Anthony Yigit (26-2-1, 10 KOs). Yigit marks a strong step up for Daivs, a fighter that fellow prospect across the pond Adam Azim felt was too early to face.
Yigit was stopped in seven by Rolly Romero in 2021 and retired in the corner by Ivan Baranchyk in 2018 – two world-level fighters. He does hold wins over Spain’s Martin, who many felt beat Teofimo Lopez last time out, and Joe Hughes marking a good test for Davis.
The card is made up of eight fights and for viewers in the UK, coverage on Sky Sports starts at 02:00 am BST. The main event is scheduled to start at 4:30 am BST on Sky Sports Main Event. US viewers can tune into ESPN from 10 pm ET (7 pm PT) for the main card with ring walks expected at 11:30 pm ET (8 pm PT).
Stay tuned to NoSmokeSport.com for fight week updates as they happen. Tickets for the event are still available and can be found here.
Shakur Stevenson v Shuichiro Yoshino – WBC World Lightweight Title Eliminator – Sat April 8– Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA – Live On Sky Sports
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