Shakur Stevenson has just defended his WBC lightweight title with a ninth-round TKO of Britain’s Josh Padley. It’s a result that was widely expected after the 29-year-old Padley took the fight on four days’ notice when scheduled opponent Floyd Schofield was forced to withdraw due to illness. A Yorkshire electrician by day, Padley completed a shift on Wednesday before hopping a bird to Riyadh to chase a potential life-changing opportunity.
Padley, a domestic-level fighter coming off a career-best win over Mark Chamberlain at Wembley in September, was fit for the task and gave a very good account of himself. But there would be no fairytale ending as he was ultimately outclassed by the surgical southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, getting dropped three times (all on body shots) before his corner threw in the towel after nine completed rounds. Already a three-division world champion at 27, Stevenson retains the WBC’s lightweight strap for a second time while improving to 23-0 with 11 knockouts.
