Stevenson vs Yoshino: Lightweight Title Elimination

Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9KOs) returns to his hometown of New Jersey to take on Japan’s Shuichiro Yoshino (16-0, 12KOs) on April 8th at the Prudential Center in Newark. Their 12-round headliner is presented by Top Rank and will be televised and stream live via ESPN. The fight will be held at lightweight and is a WBC eliminator with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger for the winner of unified 135-pound champion Devin Haney and former 3 division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-2, 11KOs).

Stevenson is a young, skillful southpaw who is ranked number 3 in the WBC rankings. who has notable wins over Robson Conceicao, Oscar Valdez and Jamel Herring. Stevenson is a force to be reckoned with and this stepping stone throws his name closer into the mix for elite of the division. Stevenson is athletic, tricky, defensive and sharp. He is young and only getting better so it is no surprise his should be going up in opposition. A win would get him the fights that will get him the recognition he deserves.

Yoshino has impressive back to back wins over fellow Japanese boxers Masayoshi Nakatani via knockout and Masyuki Ito via 11 round technical decision. Yoshino is tough and rugged who applies nonstop pressure and tends to keep his foot on the throttle. Yoshino looks to keep Stevenson busy all night with his high endurance fight style.

Also on the card as the co-feature we have heavyweight knockout sensation Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (13-0, 13KOs). When Anderson steps in the ring he brings bombs and relentlessly unleashes them with non-stop barrages. Anderson will be going up against unbeaten Dominican George Arias (18-0, 7KOs). We also have top prospect Keyshawn Davis (7-0,5KOs) as he goes up against Ghanaian veteran Emmanuel Tagoe (32-2, 15KOs).

Tune in on April 8th and do not miss out on this ESPN tripleheader!