Shakur Stevenson will be confident of becoming a three-weight world champion as he fights Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC lightweight belt in Las Vegas tonight.
The 26-year-old, who is 20-0 as a professional, picked up a world title featherweight beforing moving up to do likewise at super-featherweight. His reign was a short one though, as was stripped of his WBC and WBO belts after failing to make weight for his first defence against Robson Conceicao.
Stevenson has now entered a star-studded 135lbs division, where Devin Haney holds the belt. Haney, who Stevenson rejected an offer to fight early this year, is moving up in weight himself, taking on Regis Prograis for his super-lightweight title next month.
That has set the stage for Stevenson to fight for the WBC lightweight belt, in a bout taking place on Thursday night before the focus in Las Vegas shifts to Formula One this weekend.
This is only Stevenson's second fight at 135lbs, having stopped Shuichiro Yoshino earlier this year, and he now takes on Dos Santos, who gets his first shot at a world title. The 24-year-old (16-1) has earned his shot with three wins on the bounce since losing on points to William Foster III at the start of last year.
Stevenson vs De Los Santos date, start time, venue and ring walks
Stevenson vs De Los Santos will take place tonight Thursday, November 26, 2023 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The main event ring walks are expected at around 4am GMT early on Friday morning, although that is subject to change depending on the length of the bouts earlier on the card. The undercard should start at around 1.30am.
Stevenson vs De Los Santos fight card/undercard in full
Shakur Stevenson vs Edwin De Los Santos
Emanuel Navarrete vs Robson Conceicao
Brian Norman Jr vs Quinton Randall
Floyd Diaz vs Max Ornelas
Troy Isley vs Vladimir Hernandez
Emiliano Vargas vs Brandon Mendoza
Jackson Murray vs Steven Torres
Abdullah Mason vs Jose Cardenas
Hugo Micallef vs Sergio Odabai
Giovanni Sarchioto vs Lucas de Abreu
How to watch Stevenson vs De Los Santos
TV channel: The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Arena. Coverage of the card starts at 1:30am GMT in the early hours of Friday morning.
Live stream: Subscribers will also be able to watch online via the Sky Go app.
Stevenson vs De Los Santos prediction
There is already a case for Stevenson to be in the top ten of any pound-for-pound list, with little troubling the American in any division in his professional career so far.
It remains to be seen how much further he can go in terms of weight, with Stevenson previously suggesting he could move up to 140lbs to make a much-talked about fight with Haney happen, but for now the focus is on making an impression at lightweight.
Los Santos has claimed Stevenson's "style is to run" and he the underdog will need to be aggressive to have any chance of taking the belt back to the Dominican Republic. With 14 knockouts in his 16 wins, Los Santos does have the power to at least challenge the American, but it is unlikely to be enough.
Stevenson is capable of producing truly elite defensive performances, and he is unlikely to risk too many exchanges here. Expect him to stay out of trouble and box a smart fight on his way to becoming a three-weight world champion.
Stevenson to win, by unanimous decision
Stevenson vs De Los Santos weigh-in results
Stevenson was comfortably under the limit at the weigh-in, tipping the scales at 133.8lbs. De Los Santos came in at 134.4lbs.
Shakur Stevenson vs Edwin De Los Santos heated final face-off ahead of tomorrow night…
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) November 15, 2023
[🎥 @TRBoxing] pic.twitter.com/TPOQYUsKPS
Stevenson vs De Los Santos betting odds
Stevenson to win: 1/12
De Los Santos to win: 13/2
Draw: 20/1
Stevenson to win on points or by decision: 4/11
Stevenson to win via knockout or TKO: 3/1
De Los Santos to win on points or by decision: 19/1
De Los Santos to win via knockout or TKO: 9/1
