“Sparring Is for Us to Get Better Not to Hurt”: Slamming Young Fighters, Who Takes Sparring as ‘Bragging’ Opportunity, Shakur Stevenson Shares a Clip Insuring Partner’s Well Being

It’s become quite the norm nowadays. Every now and then, fans come across leaked footage of what was supposed to be a closely guarded affair. However, an educated perusal would reveal that it’s often done purportedly to show off one’s prowess. One such instance incidentally caught world champion Shakur Stevenson‘s attention.

After watching the footage, he lamented that it defeats the very purpose of sparring when the intention to harm the other fighter seeps in. It’s been a glorious year for Shakur Stevenson. After failing to make the weight for the super featherweight division, he frog-leaped to the 135-pound weight division and defeated Shuichiro Yoshino in the first bout of the weight class. Subsequently, the 26-year-old became a world titleholder for the third time after inflicting a loss on Edwin De Los Santos last month.

Shakur Stevenson: Take it easy; it’s only sparring

Though in his Instagram story Shakur Stevenson mentioned, “This some real sh*t sparring is for us to get better not to hurt the next person… Young fighters nowadays will try to hurt the next man for bragging rights, but I always been the type to let the fighter get hisself together first after I buzz em in sparring.” For reference, he had also attached the link to the post that initially shared the clip. The footage shows two boxers engaged in intense sparring. Suddenly a right from the boxer in red tees and shorts found its mark.

The opponent couldn’t control himself and wobbled across the ring. Then, probably concerned about his well-being, the boxer who had thrown the punch lunged forward to hold him, preventing him from falling. Soon, one of the hurt boxer’s cornermen jumped in. Telling both men to relax, he took his fighter back to their corner. While going back, he raised his thumbs towards the boxer in red, acknowledging his sportsmanship. Tagging the Brazilian boxer Everton Lopes, the footnote on the video reads, “@evertonlopess1 🇧🇷 sportsmanship.”

Thus, the intention behind sharing the video could have been bona fide. However, as Shakur Stevenson highlighted, there’s another side to it, where it’s not necessary to take the harmless sparring to that intense competitive level.

‘Sugar’ at the receiving end

For most of the year, Shakur Stevenson’s name headlined alongside Devin Haney‘s. In a much-publicized online spat, the former rejected the latter’s fight offer. Interestingly, the new light welterweight champion’s father shared their sparring footage. It shows Stevenson calling out to end the sparring, shouting, “I’am tired.”

He received much criticism for his performance against De Los Santos. However, the Newark-born southpaw has great hopes, with the upcoming year promising a slew of exciting line-ups that could take his profile to the next level.

Read More: Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz Reveals Real Reason Why Shakur Stevenson Fight Never Came to Fruition

Do you agree with Shakur Stevenson’s observations on the sparring video? Please share your views with us in the comments below.

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