Shakur Stevenson retained his title against late-replacement opponent Josh Padley at The Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 22. The native of Newark, NJ claimed the win by TKO, sending the British challenger to the canvas three times along the way.
Stevenson seemed in control throughout the fight, picking Padley apart. To his credit, Padley fought back, trying to land punches of his own. The 27-year-old, based in Houston, TX, floored his opponent for the final time with a right hand to the body, forcing Padley’s corner to throw in the towel in the last seconds of the ninth round.
With the victory, Shakur Stevenson made the second successful defense of his WBC lightweight title. The three-division world champion improved to 23-0, 11 KOs, and remained undefeated.
Josh Padley, who took the fight on a few days’ notice, replacing Floyd Schofield, who had been hospitalized, suffered his first career defeat. The 29-year-old from Doncaster, Yorkshire dropped to 15-1, 4 KOs.
The bout was featured on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2.