Newark native Shakur Stevenson gets technical knockout in boxing's return to Las Vegas

Two New Jersey guys, Shakur Stevenson and Felix Caraballo, went at it in the super featherweight division, as boxing got back underway Tuesday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

News 12 Staff

Jun 10, 2020, 10:24 AM

Updated 1,590 days ago

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Two New Jersey guys, Shakur Stevenson and Felix Caraballo, went at it in the super featherweight division, as boxing got back underway Tuesday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Stevenson, from Newark, and Caraballo, who grew up in Paterson, went six rounds, and Stevenson got the technical knockout. His record now stands at 14-0.
As boxing returns, it will look much different than we're used to. The bell will ring, but there will be no roar of the crowd, as fights will take place without fans.
"There's certain fighters where the crowd makes them hyped up, but I'm not that type of fighter,” says Stevenson. “I'm the type of fighter that I black out the crowd, I black out the noise and the person that's in front of me."
The 22-year-old Stevenson headlines boxing’s return. He is an Olympic silver medalist and the current boxing organization’s featherweight champion. It was his first time back in the ring in nearly eight months – he had a title fight canceled in March due to coronavirus.
"I definitely don't get scared about stuff like this, I prepare too much to be scared, but I'm not nervous or nothing right now,” says Stevenson. “I'm good."
Boxing experts have compared Stevenson to Floyd Mayweather.
“I think that for me to bring boxing back there's a lot of people at home not doing stuff, a lot people at home in quarantine, doing nothing but sitting back and watching TV, why not turn on ESPN and see the first boxing event back?” says Stevenson.