Shakur Stevenson’s homecoming fight was a resounding success despite him facing a late replacement opponent in Alberto Guevara.
In front of more than 5,000 fans in Stevenson’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey, the unbeaten featherweight contender knocked out Alberto Guevara in the third round in what was a very one-sided bout.
From the start, Stevenson established himself as the far superior boxer by constantly punishing Guevara. Stevenson then connected on multiple body shots that dropped Guevara twice in the second round. Stevenson would end his night in the third round by knocking him out with a big left hand as the crowd at the Prudential Center went ballistic at seeing their hometown fighter improve his record to 12-0.
When Stevenson’s homecoming fight was announced, he was originally slated to face Hairon Socarras, but then Socarras withdrew his name from the fight soon after. Then, former title challenger Franklin Manzanilla stepped in to face Stevenson, but like Socarras, Manzanilla also dropped out of the fight. It wasn’t until eight days before the fight that Guevara, whose last fight was a 10-round loss to Hugo Ruiz in which Guevara was also slotted in to fight at the last minute.
After the fight, Stevenson continued calling out the top fighters at featherweight, specifically calling out WBO champion Oscar Valdez and IBF champion Josh Warrington. In regards to Warrington, Stevenson even said he would be willing to travel to the United Kingdom in December if it means making that fight possible. Stevenson is currently ranked No. 1 by the WBO at featherweight.
