Shakur Stevenson is an accomplished American boxer with multiple world championships in three weight classes. He's held unified and lineal titles at super featherweight and won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics. Highly ranked by major boxing organizations, Stevenson is considered one of the top active lightweights globally.
Shakur Stevenson was born on June 28, 1997.
In 2014, Shakur Stevenson had a very successful career at the Youth Level, winning the AIBA Youth World Championships and Summer Youth Olympics.
At the age of 18, Shakur Stevenson won the Senior U.S. Olympic Trials in 2015, qualifying for the U.S. boxing team at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In 2016, Shakur Stevenson represented the United States at the Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in the bantamweight division.
Shakur Stevenson won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, losing to Robeisy Ramírez of Cuba in the gold medal match. He was the highest-medaling male boxer for the United States.
Shakur Stevenson turned professional on February 9, 2017, signing a promotional contract with Top Rank and Andre Ward as his manager.
On April 22, 2017, Shakur Stevenson won his professional debut against Edgar Brito via fifth round technical decision due to cuts sustained by Brito from accidental and intentional headbutts.
Shakur Stevenson made his Madison Square Garden debut on May 20, 2017, defeating Carlos Suarez in the first round.
On August 19, 2017, Shakur Stevenson fought David Michel Paz at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, winning by unanimous decision.
Shakur Stevenson fought Oscar Mendoza on December 9, 2017, at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.
Shakur Stevenson was arrested on July 1, 2018, for misdemeanor assault following an altercation with David Grayton involving a group of people in a South Beach parking garage.
Shakur Stevenson fought Juan Tapia on February 16, 2018, at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada, and won by unanimous decision.
On June 18, 2019, the assault charges against Shakur Stevenson were dropped after he completed a year of probation, 50 hours of community service, and paid the victims' medical expenses.
Shakur Stevenson defeated Joet Gonzalez on October 26, 2019, to win the vacant WBO featherweight title. This bout was marked by a personal rivalry, as Stevenson's girlfriend was Gonzalez's younger sister.
Shakur Stevenson vacated his WBO featherweight title on July 9, 2020, to move up to the super featherweight division.
On December 12, 2020, Shakur Stevenson secured a dominant victory against Toka Khan Clary, with all three judges scoring the fight 100-90 in his favor.
Shakur Stevenson defeated Jeremiah Nakathila on June 12, 2021, in Las Vegas to win the vacant WBO interim junior lightweight title. The fight, however, was met with criticism for its lack of action and low punch output.
Shakur Stevenson defeated Jamel Herring by tenth-round TKO on October 23, 2021, to become a two-division world champion, securing the WBO junior lightweight title.
Shakur Stevenson's daughter was born in 2021.
Negotiations began on January 16, 2022, for a unification bout between Shakur Stevenson and WBC champion Óscar Valdez.
On September 23, 2022, Shakur Stevenson fought Robson Conceição at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Despite missing weight and losing his WBC and WBO titles, Stevenson won by unanimous decision. He announced his move to lightweight after the fight.
On November 9, 2022, the WBC ordered Isaac Cruz to face Shakur Stevenson in a lightweight title eliminator. Cruz declined, leading to a series of other potential opponents also declining.
On January 11, 2023, Shuichiro Yoshino agreed to face Shakur Stevenson in a lightweight title eliminator after several other boxers declined.
On April 8, 2023, Shakur Stevenson fought Shuichiro Yoshino at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, winning by sixth-round technical knockout.
On August 26, 2023, the WBC ordered Frank Martin to face Shakur Stevenson for the vacant lightweight title. Martin withdrew, and Edwin De Los Santos became Stevenson's opponent.
As of November 2023, Shakur Stevenson is ranked as the world's third best active lightweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and BoxRec, fourth by ESPN, and fifth by The Ring magazine.
On November 16, 2023, Shakur Stevenson fought Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC lightweight title at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Stevenson won by unanimous decision, setting a CompuBox record for the fewest punches thrown in a 12-round fight.
Shakur Stevenson is scheduled to defend his WBC lightweight title against Artem Harutyunyan on July 6, 2024, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.