Shakur Stevenson Stops Felix Caraballo In Six – Boxing News

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By Anthony “Zute” George

It was a sigh of relief for boxing fans. As we all try and live through this new normal, which is not very normal at all, we were treated to a boxing fix Tuesday night on ESPN. Top Rank Boxing began their ambitious boxing schedule for June. Indeed, things are different, and ESPN did not shy away from the times at hand. They addressed the lack of crowd noise, the new protocols put in place for a boxing event, including the how the fighters are quarantined, and the scattered commentators, do you think Mark Kriegel reads much? ESPN also addressed the racism still affecting the United States of America.

Then there were the fights. Shakur Stevenson, 14-0, 8 KO’s was making his debut in the 130-pound division against Felix Caraballo, 13-2-2, 9 KO’s, and he looked brilliant. Caraballo jumped on Shakur at the early onset of the fight, but he paid dearly for his aggression. Shakur was sharp with both hands in close. When Felix slowed down and allowed Shakur to create distance, Shakur was accurate from range. His right head seemed to have the same power effect as his sledgehammer left hand. But his left hand is his money punch, and he worked it well all night. Caraballo tried to stay aggressive, but all that tactic did was provide Stevenson with the chance to show everyone what a terrific defensive fighter he is. Shakur ended the clinic with a beautiful left-hand body shot that dropped Caraballo to the end the fight. The stoppage came at 1:31 of the sixth round. It was the first time Felix Caraballo was stopped in a professional fight.

Undercard results:

Heavyweight Jared Anderson, 4-0, 4 KO’s looked impressive against Johnnie Langston, 8-3, 3 KO’s, stopping him at 1:55 of the third round. Langston came to fight and showed resistance against the heavyweight prospect, but Anderson is just too good for that tier of fighter. Jared was clicking on all cylinders behind an impressive jab, and even tested out his arsenal behind the southpaw stance. It should be an excellent treat for boxing fans to watch this young man develop.

In a horrible mismatch, heavyweight Guido Vianello, 7-0, 7 KO’s, stopped Donald Haynesworth, 16-4-1, 14 KO’s at 2:16 of round one. Guido looks like a good prospect and should be a fun fighter to follow, but it is hard to determine where he is at, based on his competition tonight. Haynesworth might have looked good on paper, but paper does not fight back, and neither did Haynesworth.

In a middleweight affair, Quatavious Cash, 12-2, 7 KO’s, defeated Calvin Metcalf, 10-4-1, 3 Ko’s via unanimous, technical decision, scores read 60-54, 60-55, 59-55. The fight was stopped due to accidental headbutt that caused a bad cut on Metcalf’s forehead. It was a decent fight, as both fighters threw their fair share of punches, and Cash showed that he can perform well backing up, a trait lost on a lot of pugilists.

In a featherweight bout, Robeisy Ramirez, 3-1, 3 KO’s stopped Yeuri Andujar, 5-4, 3 KO’s, at :54 of the first round. It did not take the southpaw Ramirez long to get his mighty left hand going, and Ramirez was no match for this skilled Olympian.

Anthony “Zute” George is the Author of Tough Man: The Greg Haugen Story, a new boxing book that covers the skilled champion from Auburn, Washington, as well as the scope of the times during his days of pugilism.

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