Stevenson turned professional on February 9, 2017, signing a promotional contract with Top Rank.[4][5] He signed Andre Ward as his manager.[6]
Promoter Bob Arum told Ringtv that Stevenson would likely make his debut on a stacked card at the StubHub Center in Carson, California on April 22, 2017.[7] Stevenson showed off his agility, defense and punching skills as he won his first professional fight against American boxer Edgar Brito. Stevenson won via fifth round technical decision. Brito was cut on the left eye after an accidental headbutt in round 2. In round 3, he was deducted a point for intentionally headbutting Stevenson. From his own intentional headbutts, Brito suffered a cut over his right eye. The ringside physician stopped the bout. Stevenson was ahead on all three judges scorecards and won every round.[8][9]
In an official press release on May 3, it was confirmed that Stevenson would make his Madison Square Garden debut on undercard of the Terence Crawford vs. Félix Díaz world light welterweight championship fight on May 20, 2017. His opponent was announced as Argentine boxer Carlos Suarez (6-3-2, 1 KO).[10] Stevenson won the bout after 2 minutes and 35 seconds of the first round. Suarez was knocked down before the stoppage.[11] Stevenson's third bout took place at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, again on the undercard of Terrence Crawford, this time his unification fight against Julius Indongo on August 19, 2017. Stevenson fought his second straight Argentine opponent, David Michel Paz (4-3) in a scheduled six-round fight. Stevenson easily outpointed Paz over 6 rounds winning 60–53 on all three scorecards. In round 5, Paz was knocked down following a straight left. Stevenson seemed comfortable and patient in letting the fight go the distance.[12] On November 20, Top Rank confirmed 26-year-old Mexican Oscar Mendoza (4-2, 2 KOs) as Stevenson's opponent, which would take place on the undercard of Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux on December 9, 2017, at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City, New York.[13]
Stevenson's first fight for 2018 was announced on February 7 to take place at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino's Grand Theater in Reno, Nevada on February 16 against Juan Tapia (8-1, 3 KOs) in a scheduled 8 round bout.[14] Stevenson easily outpointed Tapia, winning 80–72 on all three judges' scorecards. Stevenson showed defensive improvements in the fight, boxed with his jab and worked to the body. He used the distance well, allowing Tapia to land only one punch at a time.[15]
Stevenson vs. Gonzalez
In August 2019, The WBO Championship Committee ordered Stevenson and Joet Gonzalez (23-0, 14 KOs) to fight for the vacant WBO featherweight title. The title was previously held by Óscar Valdez. The teams were given 30 days to negotiate and reach an agreement.[16] It took the full 30 days but eventually Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, who promote Gonzalez, reached an agreement as reported by ESPN. The agreed date was October 26 and the event was to take place at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada. The fight was broadcast by ESPN+.[17] There was real hatred from Gonzalez as at the time his younger sister was dating Stevenson.[18]
The trash talk continued through to the weigh in. Stevenson weighed 126 pounds and Gonzalez stepped on the scales a little lighter at 125¼ pounds.[19] On the night, in front of 2,828 fans, Stevenson outboxed Gonzalez, winning a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the bout 119–109 in his favor. After the final bell, Stevenson attempted to reconcile with Gonzalez without success, saying, "I told him he's a helluva fighter. He didn't really want to talk to me, but it is what it is." He began to call for a unification fight with IBF champion Josh Warrington. Stevenson became the first 2016 Rio Olympics Team USA male fighter to win a world title.[20][21][22] On July 9, 2020, Stevenson vacated his WBO title without making a single title defense, as he had moved up to the super featherweight division.[23]
Super featherweight
On June 9, 2020 Stevenson made his super featherweight debut by defeating Felix Caraballo via 6th round KO. The fight took place in Las Vegas. Caraballo was dropped in the opening round and again in round 6. The judges had Stevenson ahead 50-43, 50-44 and 50-44 at the time of stoppage.[24] The fight drew a peak audience of 609,000 viewers.[25]
Stevenson vs. Clary
In November 2020, Top Rank announced Stevenson would fight Toka Khan Clary (28-2, 19 KOs) on December 12 in a 10-round bout at The Bubble at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.[26] Stevenson originally came in over the limit at 130 ½ pounds, then stripped down and weighed 130 pounds. Kahn Clary weighed 129 pounds.[27] Kahn Clary was on a three-fight win streak heading into the fight. Stevenson defeated Clary convincingly, winning the fight by a wide margin on the scorecards, with all three judges scoring the contest 100–90 in his favor. Stevenson landed 151 punches from the 514 thrown for a 29% connect rate. Kahn Clary only managed to land 48 of the 529 punches thrown for a very low 9% connect rate.[28][29] The fight averaged 1,281,000 viewers.[30]
Stevenson vs. Nakathila
After improving to 15–0, in April 2021, it was announced that Stevenson would next fight Jeremiah Nakathila (21-1, 17 KOs) on June 12, 2021, at the The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.[31] Nakathila was ranked #2 by the WBO at super featherweight.[32][33] Stevenson stepped on the scales at 129.6 pounds and Nakathila officially weighed 129.4 pounds.[34]
Stevenson knocked down Nakathila with a check hook in the fourth round of their fight, en route to a shutout unanimous decision victory to win the vacant WBO interim junior lightweight title.[35][36] The bout attracted criticism from pundits and analysts, citing the low number of punches thrown by Stevenson leading to a lack of action. So few meaningful punches were thrown that the ESPN commentators Joe Tessitore, Tim Bradley and Andre Ward who were calling the fight criticized Stevenson during the live broadcast of the fight. Stevenson also admitted he did not like his performance and tried to get the stoppage. He then said he was being cautious in the fight due to Nakathila's power.[37][38][39] The fight drew an average audience of 857,000 and peaked at 927,000.[30]
Stevenson vs. Herring
In September 2021, it was announced that Stevenson would challenge Jamel Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) for the full WBO junior lightweight champion on October 23 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The fight would headline a three-bout broadcast by ESPN. Herring was coming off a career-best win earlier in the year, stopping former world champion Carl Frampton to retain his world title. Due to Stevenson holding the interim belt, Herring had to make a choice of either fighting him next or vacating.[40] Oscar Valdez made it clear he wanted the winner of this bout next. Bob Arum who promoted all three boxers at the time also made it clear he would make the fight next.[41] At the weight-in, a stone faced Herring weighed 129.8 pounds, and Stevenson came in at the 130 pound limit.[42] Despite being the champion going into the fight, Herring was the underdog, however brushed it off saying, “Look at all my big fights. I was an underdog against Ito, Frampton, this one. So, it doesn’t mean much to me.”[43]
In a one-sided performance that saw Stevenson use remarkable hand speed, he became a two-division world champion when he defeated Herring via tenth-round technical knockout after being ahead on all three judges' scorecards. In the aftermath of his victory, Stevenson proclaimed, "I want to be a superstar in the sport; I'm here to last.". The fight was waived off with 1 minute and 30 seconds remaining.[44][45] Stevenson out landed Herring 164-87 in total punches and out landed him in all rounds.[46] At the time of stoppage, two judges had the fight 90-81 and the third had it 89-82 all for Stevenson.[47] Herring suffered his first defeat in four years and claimed Stevenson was the better man and he had no excuses.[48] According to Nielsen Media Research, the fight averaged 1,233,000 viewers and peaked at 1,264,000 viewers. These figures did not include viewers who tuned in on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.[30]
Stevenson vs. Valdez
On January 16, 2022, there were negotiations that Stevenson would have a unification bout with WBC champion Óscar Valdez. 3 days later, the fight was confirmed for April 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada and officially announced on February 17. The fight would be part of a tripleheader.[49] Stevenson felt the fight would make him a pay-per-view star.[50] For the contest, PED test was heavily emphasised. Throughout the build up, Stevenson used the word “cheating”. This was a dig at Valdez, who claimed he innocently ingested stimulants and not a PED.[51] Stevenson weighed at the 130 pound limit and Valdez came in at 129.6 pounds.[52]
Stevenson dominated using his jab and footwork to outland and outwork Valdez, even scoring a knockdown in round 6. Valdez was not competitive and had no answer for Stevenson’s defensive skills, reflexes, and more importantly his size, which was a big disadvantage for him. In the final round, Shakur looked to play it safe, using movement rather than going for the kill and finishing strong. Stevenson won by unanimous decision with scores of 117–110, 118–109 and 118–110. In doing so, Stevenson unified the WBC and vacant The Ring super featherweight titles with his WBO super featherweight belt.[53][54] According to CompuBox stats, Stevenson landed 189 of his 580 punches thrown with a connect rate of 32.6%, while Valdez had a connect rate of 21.7% which saw him land 110 of his 508 thrown.[55]
In the post fight interview, he said he had beat the Canelo team and opened up a potential fight with WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney. Stevenson then proposed to his girlfriend in the ring.[56] The fight drew in an average of 1,353,000 viewers on ESPN and peaked at 1,440,000.[57]
Stevenson vs. Conceição
Stevenson's first championship defense as a unified super featherweight titlist was scheduled against the one-time WBC title challenger Robson Conceição. The fight headlined an ESPN broadcast card, which took place on September 23, 2022, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.[58][59] He entered the bout as a significant favorite, with most bookmakers having him at -1800 odds to win the fight.[60] Stevenson missed weight by 1.6 lbs at the official weigh-ins leading to him being stripped of his WBC, WBO, and Ring titles. Prior to the fight, Stevenson stated he was unsure if he was going to stay at the weight.[61][62][63] Stevenson saw the fight stylistically tougher than his previous fight against Valdez.[64]
In front of an audience of 10,107, Stevenson won the fight by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 117–109 and one scorecard of 118–108. In the first round several times Stevenson stunned Conceição with a left on the chin with little landing otherwise from either boxer. In the second round Conceição seemed to have a problem connecting with his punches as Stevenson countered him. Stevenson was warned twice for low blows by Referee David Fields in round 3. In the final seconds of the fourth round, a left hand from Stevenson to the body dropped Conceição for an 8-count from referee Fields as the bell sounded. Stevenson continued to control the fight and was deducted a point in the ninth round for tossing Conceição to the canvas. Stevenson flipped Conceição to the canvas again in round 10, this time only a warning was given. Conceição had trouble landing flush throughout the fight. The belts remained vacant.[65][66]
During the post fight interview, Stevenson announced his move to lightweight, citing his inability to make the junior lightweight limit.[67] The fight drew a peak audience of 1,150,000 and averaged 1,097,000 viewers.[68]
Lightweight
Stevenson vs. Yoshino
On November 9, 2022, the WBC ordered Isaac Cruz to face Stevenson in a lightweight title eliminator.[69] As Cruz refused to enter into negotiations,[70] the WBC ordered William Zepeda to face Stevenson instead, as the next highest ranked contender.[71] Zepeda likewise passed on the fight,[72] as did the former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr.[73] The order was finally accepted by Shuichiro Yoshino on January 11, 2023. It would mark the first time Yoshino would fight outside of Japan professionally.[74] Stevenson was booked to face Yoshino on April 8, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.[75] Stevenson won the fight via sixth-round technical knockout.[76] Stevenson landed 50% of his total punches (123 of 245) and 60% of his power shots (104 of 174), while Yoshino was only able to land a total of 36 total punches.[77] The win earned him a shot at the WBC lightweight title. Stevenson used his jab and right hook to keep Yoshino at bay, while also mixing up his attack with body shots and uppercuts. Stevenson dominated the fight with his speed, accuracy and ring IQ, dropping Yoshino twice and landing at will until the referee intervened.[78][79] According to Stevenson, the referee should not have stopped the fight, a he wanted to apply more punishment to Yoshino, who disagreed with the stoppage and played down Stevenson's power.[80][81]
Stevenson vs. De Los Santos
On August 26, 2023, the WBC ordered Frank Martin to face the former two-weight world champion Stevenson for the vacant lightweight title.[82] As Martin later withdrew from the negotiations, Stevenson was instead ordered to face Edwin De Los Santos.[83][84] The championship bout took place on November 16, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.[85] De Los Santos claimed himself to be the real boogeyman of the division.[86] Stevenson weighed 133.8 pounds and De Los Santos checked in at 134.3 pounds. Stevenson promised a dominant performance.[87][88]
In a very uninspiring fight with practically no action for 12 rounds, Stevenson walked away with a unanimous decision victory, with scores of 115–113, 116–112, and 116–112 and became a three-weight world champion. In the opening two rounds, little happened as Stevenson landed more jabs than De Los Santos. The fans began to call for some action in round 3. The entire round, De Los Santos fought without a mouthpiece. In the fourth round what little punches connected came from Stevenson, all jabs. Any rounds which De Los Santos won, was due to landing a few more jabs than Stevenson. By round 9, there was speculation of Stevenson’s left hand being injured due to the volume of punches which were being thrown. Although referee Harvey Dock had little do to, what he failed to do was call for some action from the boxers.[89] The fight set a CompuBox record for the least amount of punches thrown in a twelve-round contest, with neither fighter landing a double digit number of strikes in any of the rounds. Stevenson landed a total of 65 out of 205 punches and De Los Santos landed 40 of his 316 thrown.[90][91] The 40 punches landed in the fight was a CompuBox record for only a month, as Prograis landed only 36 over 12 rounds in a decision loss to Devin Haney.[92] Stevenson later apologised to fans at ringside. He said, “Yo, that’s dope. I got Floyd to come to a Top Rank fight. He came here to support me. I appreciate Floyd. I apologized to him, I apologized to Andre Ward, I apologized to Terence Crawford, all my idols. I put on a bad performance. They came out to see a great performance and I put on a bad one.” Most of the 6,703 fans in attendance also booed the fight.[93]
In January 2024, Stevenson took to X and briefly announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 26.[94]
Stevenson vs. Harutyunyan
Stevenson made his first defense of his WBC lightweight title against Artem Harutyunyan at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on July 6, 2024.[95] The fight would mark the Stevenson's last bout under Top Rank as his contract was due to expire, having turned pro with them a year after the Olympics. Going into the bout, Harutyunyan had not fought in over a year. He was last defeated by Frank Martin via unanimous decision in Las Vegas in July 2023. The fight would also mark Harutyunyan's second professional fight outside of Germany.[96] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[97] The three judges scorecards read 119-109, 118-110, 116-112.. The fight began slowly, with Stevenson taking over and using a careful punch selection, cruised to a win.[98] Speaking after the fight in the defence of his lacklustre performance, Stevenson said, “It’s kind of hard to prove [you’re that guy] when you don’t have a fighter who’s trying to fight back. I’ve got to cut off the ring a little bit more.” Stevenson landed 170 punches compared to 74 landed by Harutyunyan.[99][100]
Signing with Matchroom Boxing
Stevenson turned down a $15 million five-fight deal with his existing promoter Top Rank and thus became a free agent. After talks with Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., in August 2024, he signed a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn'sMatchroom Boxing. It was also announced that he would fight Joe Cordina on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol in October 2024. Stevenson said on his new promotional deal, “I've made it clear that I want the biggest names and the biggest fights in the sport. Bring on [WBC lightweight mandatory challenger] William Zepeda at the top of 2025 and I'm ready for anyone who is brave enough to step in the ring with me. There have been few willing to take on that challenge in recent years. With Matchroom and Riyadh Season, I am teaming up with a promotional force that matches my world-class talent. We will be unstoppable in and out of the ring, and I will continue to show my dominance for many years to come in the sport of boxing.”
Stevenson vs. Schofield
Stevenson was scheduled to make the second defense of his title against Joe Cordina at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 12 October 2024.[101][102][103][104] On September 11, 2024 it was announced that Stevenson suffered hand injury and the fight was cancelled.[105][106]
In November 2024, Wiliam Zepeda defeated Tevin Farmer to stay on course to challenge Stevenson. A date in February 2025 was likely.[107] A week after the fight, Zepeda's head coach Jacob "Panda" Najar told the media the proposed fight between Stevenson and Zepeda in Saudi in February 2025 was in jeopardy after Zepeda suffered an injury to his left arm.[108] Undefeated lightweight contender Floyd Schofield (12 KOs) then made himself available and took to social media to plead to his promoter Oscar De La Hoya to make the fight.[109] Eddie Hearn later confirmed that an offer had been made to Schofield to challenge Stevenson, although Stevenson wanted Schofield to fight Abdullah Mason before challenging him. Stevenson felt his name was just being used to promote themselves.[110][111] On December 2, Hearn stated, "We're talking to Golden Boy as well. We've made them an offer, when Shakur was supposed to be fighting Zepeda. All was good for February 22; now they're saying that Zepeda is not ready. [Stevenson] needs an opponent. For me, Schofield has been calling out for a while now." At that moment, no one was being ruled out.[112] On December 2, Riyadh Season announced a blockbuster card to take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where Stevenson vs. Schofield was made official for the WBC lightweight title. The card was scheduled to take place on February 22, 2025.[113]
Personal life
A native of Newark, New Jersey, Stevenson is the oldest of nine siblings. He took up boxing at age five under his grandfather Wali Moses and cites Andre Ward as his influence.[114][115][116][117]
According to a police report, Stevenson and fellow boxer David Grayton were involved in an altercation in a South Beach parking garage. The two fighters made comments to a group of people in a parking garage.[118] Stevenson was arrested on July 1, 2018, and charged with misdemeanor assault. On June 18, 2019, Stevenson agreed to a deal where the charges would be dropped after one year of probation and 50 hours of community service. He had already paid the victims' medical expenses.[119]
Stevenson has a daughter born in 2021.[120] He is engaged to Lyric Ragston, a rapper and singer who performs under the name "Young Lyric".[120]
