Newark, N.J. native Shakur Stevenson, who won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, headlines the return of boxing amid the coronavirus pandemic after a three-month hiatus.
Stevenson (13-0, 7 KOs), the WBO featherweight champion, will face Felix Caraballo (13-1-2, 9 KOs) in the main event of Top Rank’s fight card on Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Stevenson is moving up to junior lightweight to square off against Caraballo in the 10-round bout.
ESPN reports the 22-year-old Stevenson will head into the fight short-handed, because trainer Kay Koroma has been banned after coming in contact with Mikaela Mayer, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.
The upcoming cards at the MGM Grand Convention Center require everyone involved to be tested as they arrive and wear masks while inside the venue. For the time being, the general public is not allowed. There will be limited media on site. … Top Rank COO Brad Jacobs told ESPN that Edward Jackson will replace Koroma in Stevenson’s corner. Stevenson will also have Willie Moses, his grandfather, in his corner as usual.
Stevenson was set to headline a Top Rank card in March at Madison Square Garden when it was called off at the last minute because of the coronavirus crisis.
During his layoff, Stevenson watched from the outside as former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield announced comebacks.
But Stevenson has no interest in watching the 53-year-old Tyson and 57-year-old Holyfield fight for a third time. Per Yahoo Sports:
“I’m not a big fan of watching that type of stuff. There’s no reward in that. Non-boxing fans are really into that type of stuff. Me, I’m a big boxing fan and I’m not really into that. I’m into, like, Terence Crawford versus Errol Spence, that kind of fight would light me up. Mike coming back against Evander Holyfield again, I’m not really into that.”
