The Boxing Truth®: Edwin De Los Santos

Showing posts with label Edwin De Los Santos. Show all posts

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Stevenson Wins Third World Championship, Fails To Make A Statement

The fight between undefeated former two-division world champion Shakur Stevenson and WBC number six rated Lightweight contender Edwin De Los Santos was not only for the vacant WBC Lightweight championship of the world, but some felt it could signal the beginning of what might be a new era in the 135lb. Lightweight division. A new era that seemingly has started with the former Undisputed Lightweight world champion Devin Haney choosing to roll the dice and move up in weight to challenge WBC Jr. Welterweight world champion Regis Prograis in a fight that will take place on December 9th in San Francisco, CA.

While Haney still holds three portions of the World Lightweight championship as of this writing, it is expected by many whether or not he wins that fight against Prograis that he will remain as a 140lb. Jr. Welterweight going forward, due largely to struggles he has had in making the 135lb. Lightweight limit in recent fights. Although there was little to say prior to Stevenson’s bout with De Los Santos beyond it being for a vacant world championship and thus an opportunity for Stevenson to become a three-division world champion, Haney by all accounts choosing to move on to a different chapter in his career also created an opportunity for Stevenson to make an argument for himself as being a fighter that could be viewed as the division’s new central figure.

A capacity crowd filled the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV on November 16th to see if Stevenson could make his claim for such a role. Whether it was because of a bad clash of styles between two southpaws or if Stevenson simply had an off night, what took place inside the ring was anything, but a fighter making a clear statement as emerging as the number one fighter in a division heading towards a period of transition.

For twelve rounds, Stevenson and Dos Santos engaged in a tactical battle where neither fighter seemed to take the initiative as an aggressor. Despite being a tutorial in some ways on the benefits of defense in a fighter's arsenal as both fighters were able to make each other miss with punches frequently, it was not the most entertaining bout to watch. Some might go as far as to describe the action or lack thereof as dull. While this observer will not go as far, as I believe in the old adage of ”Styles Make Fights” and will also point out the rarity of two southpaws being pitted against each other, some fights will simply be more entertaining than others.

An illustration of the lack of action in this fight can be seen in the CompuBox statistics for the twelve round world championship bout in that for the first time in history in the over four decades in which fights have been tracked statistically by CompuBox, neither fighter was able to land ten punches in a single round of the fight. From my perspective, I have seen worse fights on every level of the sport in my almost three decades covering Boxing and other combat sports, but this was one instance where I truly could not form an opinion as to who I believed may have had the upper hand.

This was due not only to the lack of action, but also neither fighter being able to hurt the other with the punches that did land or being able to score knockdowns. In all honesty, this was an instance where at the conclusion of twelve rounds, I could not see how a winner could be determined or at least determined clearly. Despite the view of yours truly, a decision was reached and it was unanimous with Stevenson winning the fight by margins of seven rounds to five or 115-113 in points, and eight rounds to four on two official scorecards or 116-112 in points making him the new WBC Lightweight champion of the world.

While sometimes a win is still indeed a win and ultimately it was mission accomplished for Stevenson in becoming a three-division world champion, he has had better performances throughout his career. Although he may not have had the statement-making performance that he was probably looking for as the last kingpin of the Lightweight division appears to be moving on and up the weight scale, it should be noted that Stevenson did say in a post-fight interview with ESPN immediately following his victory over De Los Santos that he “Didn't Feel Good," which has fueled some speculation that he may have entered the fight either dealing with an illness or an injury and that may have played a role in his performance.

Whatever the case might be, it is important to remember that fighters like all of us are human and are going to have an underwhelming performance from time to time. Whether or not Stevenson was dealing with an illness, injury, or both is something that only he can answer. It will be what he does in his next fight however, whomever that bout might be against, that will probably determine if he will indeed be the new central figure of the Lightweight division. For now, the jury is still deliberating.

“And That's The Boxing Truth."

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Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Stevenson-De Los Santos Preview

The career of undefeated former two-division world champion Shakur Stevenson thus far has been one of dominance. After winning world championships in both the 126lb. Featherweight and 130lb. Jr. Lightweight divisions, Stevenson in part because of difficulty making the 130lb. Jr. Lightweight limit prior to his last scheduled title defense of the unified WBO/WBC world championship against Robson Conceicao In September of last year, losing the championship on the scale prior to scoring a twelve round unanimous decision, Stevenson set his sights on the 135lb. Lightweight division where in his debut as a Lightweight, he scored a knockout of a “Game,” but overmatched previously undefeated Shuichiro Yoshino in an elimination bout to determine the number one contender for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Lightweight championship of the world.

As most Boxing fans know, the WBC world championship had been fully unified as part of the Undisputed Lightweight championship of the world held by Devin Haney. While it appeared as though Haney and Stevenson were on a collision course for what would be a highly anticipated showdown between two master boxers, Haney will be moving up to the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division to challenge WBC world champion Regis Prograis on December 9th in San Francisco, CA. Although Haney is still recognized as the Lightweight champion of the world by the WBA, IBF, and WBO as of this writing, the WBC opted to strip Haney of its world championship, which not only broke the undisputed championship at 135lbs., but also created an opportunity for Stevenson to fight for a vacant world championship.

An opportunity that will come on Thursday, November 16th as Stevenson will face WBC number six rated contender Edwin De Los Santos at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. A fight that can be seen in the United States on digital subscription sports streaming network ESPN+.

It is hard to ignore the perception of at least some that this fight may amount to little more than Stevenson, a potential all-time great fighter, being able to add another world championship to his resume against a relatively unknown opponent at least in some circles. This fight also comes as a result of the politics that be in the sport in that we have an undefeated former two-division world champion, who is the number one contender, facing the number six rated contender for a vacant world championship.

While this does in some ways put a spotlight on some of the flaws that come with the politics in the sport of Boxing in that number two rated contender Frank Martin is not in this fight, nor are contenders three, four, or five, Boxing is nevertheless as this observer has pointed out numerous times over almost three decades, a sport of opportunity. One has clearly presented itself for De Los Santos.

Who is Edwin De Los Santos one might ask? He is in fairness a top contender, who is the current WBC Continental Americas Lightweight champion, one of the regional championships in the WBC, which more often than not, serves as both an elevator for a fighter climbing the rankings, and a precursor for the fighter holding it to eventually challenge for a world championship. De Los Santos will enter this fight with a record of 16-1, with 14 Knockouts \, having scored knockouts in his last three fights. With a career knockout percentage of over 87%, De Los Santos should be viewed as a dangerous fighter with nothing to lose and everything to gain here.

The question going into this fight is whether De Los Santos will be able to solve the puzzle that is Shakur Stevenson's Boxing style. Stevenson is a crafty and slick boxer who has a good mix of hand speed and punching power. What has made him so dominant is to this point in his career, no opponent has been able to make him uncomfortable, much less hurt him or be able to win rounds during a fight. Although Stevenson has only ten knockouts in his twenty career wins, he is capable of scoring a knockout if the opportunity is there, though some might argue that there have been a few instances where Stevenson might have opted for decision victories rather than pressing to try and get knockouts in some of his previous fights.

Perhaps one wrinkle that some might point to as this fight approaches is this is a rare instance where two southpaws will be facing each other for a world championship. This, at least in theory, removes the theoretical advantages that a southpaw has when they face a fighter that boxes out of an orthodox stance. Nevertheless, the fight plan for De Los Santos comes down to one thing. Pressure, Pressure, Pressure… De Los Santos must find a way to cut the ring off from Stevenson to try and nullify his ability to move and apply pressure on him to set up opportunities to land his power punches. Simply put, if De Los Santos allows Stevenson to be in a position where he can dictate the pace of the fight and find his rhythm early, this may end up as most of Stevenson's previous bouts have, where the only question might be whether he will box his way to a convincing unanimous decision victory or if he might be able to get a stoppage in the middle or late rounds if he presses the issue.

Even though this fight might indeed signal a period of transition for the Lightweight division as one former undisputed world champion might exit the division depending on what happens as he tests the Jr. Welterweight waters in a few weeks by challenging for another world championship, Shakur Stevenson should keep in mind, despite being the heavy favorite and appearing to at least be in a position to become the central figure of the Lightweight division, if he is in any way overlooking Edwin De Los Santos, it could prove costly because unlike his opponent, Stevenson may indeed have everything to lose both in terms of his standing in the sport as well as some potential lucrative fights that could be in store for him in the always talent-deep Lightweight division.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

Stevenson vs. De Los Santos takes place on Thursday, November 16th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The fight as well as its full undercard can be seen in the United States on digital subscription sports streaming network ESPN+ beginning at 5:40PM ET/2:40PM PT.

ESPN+ is available through the ESPN app on mobile, tablet, and connected streaming devices/Smart TVs. For more information about ESPN+ including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, and to subscribe please visit: www.ESPNPlus.com.

(*Check your local listings internationally.*)

(*Card and Start Time Subject to Change.* )