Shakur Stevenson stops Josh Padley to retain WBC lightweight title

Shakur Stevenson had little trouble with late replacement foe Josh Padley.

Shakur Stevenson had basically no trouble whatsoever with late replacement opponent Josh Padley, retaining his WBC lightweight title with three knockdowns and a ninth round TKO.

Stevenson (23-0, 11 KO) was his normal self in the fight, meaning he didn’t exactly come out guns blazing, and only really started to unload once the fight was well in hand.

Padley (15-1, 4 KO) came in on late notice to replace the withdrawn Floyd Schofield, who pulled out this week due to a reported illness. While Schofield was a heavy underdog, Padley was an even bigger one, and the fight showed exactly why.

However game Padley may have been, the gap in skill level between the two fighters was cavernous, and Stevenson made no particular effort to step on the gas any earlier than he usually does, plus there were reportedly lingering issues with a hand injury coming into the bout.

This was the first fight Stevenson has had as a professional that was not promoted by Top Rank, and the hope going forward will be that he faces a higher level of opposition, with due respect to Josh Padley, and really a more established level of opposition than the prospect Schofield was set to be, at least on paper.

But whatever anyone thinks of his entertainment value or the worth of this particular victory, Stevenson, 27, once again got the job done in clear and clean fashion, and Padley did give his best effort, it was just the mismatch everyone expected.