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Shakur Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) looks to clinch his third world title when he takes on Edwin De Los Santos (16-1, 4 KOs) on Thursday, November 16 for the vacant WBC lightweight belt. The title bout takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will air on ESPN/ESPN+, with main card coverage set for 8:30 p.m. ET.
Stevenson makes his second appearance at lightweight, now hunting the likes of Devin Haney and Tank Davis with the switch to 140 pounds. At 26, the former unified featherweight and super-featherweight champion dispatched Shuichiro Yoshino by sixth-round TKO in his lightweight debut. Also a previous Olympic standout, Stevenson turned pro in 2017 and has never looked back. He is undoubtedly one of the most feared fighters in boxing, with a combination of high ring IQ and lethal striking skills.
Santos enters this fight with little to no expectations, currently ranked 6th in the WBC lightweight rankings. The 24-year-old southpaw agreed to the fight, as Stevenson’s talks with contenders Issac Cruz and Frank Martin stalled out. Santos certainly has the knockout power, as two of his last three wins have come by early-round KOs. In his most recent bout, he defeated Joseph Adorno by way of unanimous decision.
Fight Odds
Stevenson is a -1200 betting favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook. Santos is the underdog at +700 odds.
Shakur Stevenson-Edwin De Los Santos lightweight bout prediction
The time has come for Stevenson despite it being a Thursday night, he headlines a marquee title fight. Sure his Twitter antics seem immature, but make no mistake, Stevenson’s one of a kind. The most feared in the division? Tank might have a thing or two to demerit that claim.
However, a win on Thursday puts Stevenson closer to the marquee fight we all know he wants, which is Haney. To make it even more ironic, he’ll be capturing Haney’s WBC belt as he was deemed a champion “in recess” after jumping to 140 for his bout against Regis Prograis.
While Santos enters with a puncher’s chance, expect Stevenson to not let this opportunity slip away. The ring technician has struggled to get a fight at lightweight for a reason, now he has a chance to prove to us all once again. Shakur wins by 9th round TKO. Simply outboxes Santos and puts on a show.