AP

Shakur Stevenson jabs way to 10th-round TKO over Herring

Oct 23, 2021, 10:38 AM | Updated: 10:42 pm

Shakur Stevenson, left, lands a punch on Jamel Herring during a junior lightweight boxing bout in A...

Shakur Stevenson, left, lands a punch on Jamel Herring during a junior lightweight boxing bout in Atlanta early Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Stevenson won the bout. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

(AP Photo/Ben Gray)


              Shakur Stevenson, left, lands a punch to Jamel Herring during a junior lightweight boxing bout in Atlanta early Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Stevenson won the bout. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
            
              Xander Zayas, right, lands a punch on Dan Karpency during a boxing bout in Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
            
              Shakur Stevenson, left, lands a punch on Jamel Herring during a junior lightweight boxing bout in Atlanta on early Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Stevenson won the bout. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
            
              James Westley II tries to get up after being knocked down by Niko Ali Walsh, grandson of Muhammad Ali, during a middleweight boxing match in Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. Walsh won in the third round. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
            
              Evan Holyfield, son of Evander Holyfield, heads to the ring to fight Charles Stanford in a junior middleweight boxing match in Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
            
              Evan Holyfield, son of Evander Holyfield, knocks out Charles Stanford in a junior middleweight boxing match in Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
            
              Niko Ali Walsh, grandson of Muhammad Ali, hits James Westley II during a middleweight boxing match in Atlanta on Saturday night, Oct. 23, 2021. Walsh won in the third round. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
            
              Shakur Stevenson, left, lands a punch on Jamel Herring during a junior lightweight boxing bout in Atlanta early Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. Stevenson won the bout. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

ATLANTA (AP) — Shakur Stevenson stepped up in weight class and jabbed his way to a second world title early Sunday, beating Jamel Herring by technical knockout in the 10th round of their junior lightweight championship fight.

The former featherweight champion applied steady pressure throughout, and Stevenson (17-0) leaned on the jab that helped him to a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics.

Herring (23-3) never went down, but as the fight wore on he suffered substantial damage above both eyes. The fight was stopped briefly with 2:35 left in the 10th so that his badly bleeding right forehead could receive attention from his corner.

When action resumed, Stevenson pressured relentlessly. Herring’s eye kept bleeding badly and the fight was stopped for good at 1:30 of the 10th.

“He’s a great boxer, very tough,” Stevenson said. He also said that he felt confident that he was going to win by the fifth round.

Both fighters were tentative in the first round, when Herring scored with a few jabs.

Stevenson picked up his pace through the second and third rounds, and his jabs proved more effective the more often he threw them. Herring suffered damage around his left eye and had more difficulty evading punches as the fight carried though the sixth.

Although Stevenson never seemed close to registering a knockout, he dictated the fight from the second round onward. While he was giving away reach, the 5-foot-7 native of Newark, New Jersey, was pressed against the ropes by the 5-10 Herring just a few times.

On the undercard, junior middleweight and Atlanta native Evan Holyfield moved to 8-0 as a professional with a knockout in the second round of journeyman Charles Stanford.

One of the biggest rounds of applause on the night came immediately after that fight when his father, four-time former world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, was pictured on scoreboards around the arena with a sizable grin on his face.

Soon afterward, Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, scored a third-round technical knockout of James Westley II in the second pro bout for each fighter.

Walsh first sent Westley to the canvas in the second round, and with another combination put him down in the third on the way to a 33-17 edge in power punches.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Shakur Stevenson jabs way to 10th-round TKO over Herring