A drained-looking Shakur Stevenson had his first face-off with his replacement opponent, Josh Padley today during their final press conference ahead of Saturday’s card on DAZN PPV at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
Shakur Drained
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) looked painfully thin, like he’d dropped 20 lbs of waterweight ahead of Friday’s weigh-in. It’s not a shock because he looked big several weeks ago, like a small welterweight. You can tell from Stevenson’s appearance that he’s going to blow up to 150s after he rehydrates, and he’ll dominate the electrician from England.
Shakur looked smug during the face-off with Padley, and you could tell that he feels this guy is no threat to ruin his path to his golden payday fight against Gervonta Davis. The Newark, New Jersey native Stevenson is being matched against weak opposition, and you can understand why, given the mega-money he can get fighting Tank.
Putting Shakur in with someone good would be bad because his glass hands and lack of power would make him vulnerable.
Padley, 29, was picked out as the replacement for Shakur after the original opponent, Floyd Schofield, suffered an illness this week. This is the second fighter on this card to come down with an illness since arriving in Saudi Arabia.
“I put a lot of work in this training camp. I’m coming in with the same mentality. I know this guy [Padley] is trying to take food off my table, and I’m not going to let him,” said Shakur Stevenson during today’s final press conference, talking about his fight against replacement opponent Josh Padley on Saturday night.
“I fought in the amateurs. It reminds me of the amateurs where you don’t know who you’re going to fight next. It’s okay. I’m going to feel him out, and then I’m going to take care of business,” Shakur said. “There’s always a little bit of pressure, but I’m locked in, I’m focused and I’m coming to get him.”
Last Updated on 02/20/2025
