The WBC lightweight championship bout between Shakur Stevenson and Josh Padley went much as expected with the reigning champion Stevenson facing a last-minute challenger. Stevenson wore Padley down with body blows, eventually bringing him down three times in Round 9 for a TKO to defend his belt on Saturday’s Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard at the Anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Padley, 29, was a late replacement for Floyd Schofield and tried to be aggressive to start, however Stevenson kept him at bay with his jab and took control of the fight early on.
Stevenson, 27, Uncrowned’s No. 10 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, asserted himself in the second round with a flurry of combinations that landed several punches squarely on Padley’s jaw. The Yorkshire native didn’t buckle, but had difficulty trying to keep up with his favored opponent.
Padley had to spend most of his efforts defending himself against Stevenson’s jab, leaving him open to body punches. As Padley’s hands lowered, he began to appear overmatched as Stevenson landed a couple of hard lefts in the third round.
Yet Padley attempted to go at Stevenson harder in the fifth round, perhaps sensing that he needed to make up points and keep the fight from going longer. As Padley’s corner cheered and the crowd showed some life, Stevenson appeared amused, continuing to rattle Padley with his jab and breaking through a weakening defense with a couple of right hooks.
Stevenson’s left hand appeared to get hurt in the fourth round, with him shaking it after connecting on some punches with it. That wasn’t enough to get him to back off as he continued hitting Padley with several hard rights to the face and body, yet the left looked like it was more of an issue for Stevenson as the seventh round ended.
Despite Stevenson having a clear advantage, he couldn’t put Padley away with a power punch or strong combination. His potentially injured left hand may have been a factor there, but many fans on social media noted derisively that Padley was staying in the fight when he was working his day job as an electrician just three days prior.
Padley finally began to falter in Round 9, brought to his knees by a body punch to his left ribs early on. Seizing the advantage, Stevenson continued to go to the body and Padley was unable stay upright due to the pain. The Brit pounded the canvas in frustration, but could offer little resistance and his corner threw in the towel for their fighter after he went down for the third time.
Stevenson improved to 23-0 with 11 knockouts, while Padley lost for the first time to make his record 15-1 with four knockouts.
Check out full results, highlights and Uncrowned’s round-by-round coverage for Saturday’s stacked Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2 fight card here.
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