Shakur Stevenson welcomes boxing back with KO of Felix Caraballo

Shakur Stevenson took care of business and stopped Felix Caraballo. 

Boxing looked a little bit different on Tuesday, June 9, live on ESPN, but it was nice to see the sport in the spotlight after months on pandemic lockdown. Shakur Stevenson (14-0, 8 KOs) headlined the Top Rank card against Felix Caraballo (13-2-2, 9 KOs), and he did what he was expected to do. Stevenson beat his out-classed opponent to a pulp.

No fans or media members were in attendance for the Top Rank show, which is the new normal for the time being. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum made the press aware of his vision for boxing in the coming months, but the sport is back, and that’s what matters most.

Instead of having boxing in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, fights were held in the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, which is now being deemed “The Bubble.” The lights were flashing, the atmosphere was exciting, and the fights were satisfying. While there were no fans, ESPN was innovative in using the web to allow fans to have their cheers at home piped into “The Bubble.”

Stevenson fought for the first time as a super featherweight, despite being the WBO featherweight champion, against an outmatched opponent in Caraballo. He knew what Caraballo was before stepping into the ring. Stevenson gave his opinion of Caraballo on the media call before the fight.

“I watched like one around,” said Stevenson on the call. “I seen [sic] everything I needed to see in that one round. I see a lot of holes in his [Caraballo’s] game. I’m going to expose it.”

Shakur Stevenson vs. Felix Caraballo play-by-play

Stevenson did exploit Caraballo’s deficiencies en route to a round 6 knockout victory. Caraballo is rated as the 105th best featherweight by Boxrec.com. That doesn’t sound impressive, but people should keep in mind the work that Top Rank and ESPN had to do in order to put this fight card together. Opponents aren’t readily available because of the current pandemic, and Caraballo gave it his best for six rounds.

Caraballo came out aggressively in round 1. He tried to pin Stevenson against the ropes, but he easily evaded Caraballo. Caraballo wanted to brawl, but the 22-year-old Stevenson showed boxing wisdom beyond his years by remaining calm and continuing to box.

From round 2 on, Caraballo didn’t stand a chance. Stevenson counterpunched and picked apart Caraballo for the remainder of the fight. His hands were fast and accurate, and Stevenson looked like he could have ended the fight numerous times, but wanted to get some rounds in.

Stevenson wobbled Caraballo with a lead right hook in round 2 but didn’t rush things and continued to box. He hadn’t fought since October, so sharpening his tools with experience was likely part of the gameplan.

In round 5, Stevenson appeared to injure his left hand. After connecting on a left cross, Stevenson started to shake out his glove ever so slightly. After the fight, the cameras caught him being examined and wincing in pain as the doctor pressed on the outside of his left hand.

Despite the apparent injury, Stevenson ended things effortlessly in round 6. He softened Caraballo with a right hook to the body and quickly slipped in a left short uppercut to the liver after Caraballo’s arms shifted after the lead punch.

Caraballo immediately crumpled to the canvas in agony, and there was no getting up. Referee Tony Weeks didn’t bother fulfilling the count as he waved off the fight and tried to help Caraballo to his feet.

Stevenson vs. Caraballo wasn’t a competitive bout, but it gave fans a chance to enjoy boxing again and regain a sense of normalcy despite the nuanced safety precautions. Life isn’t normal yet, but at least this fight card got the long journey towards normalcy started. Stevenson looked good, but more importantly, boxing is back and open for business.