Bob Arum explained why Shakur Stevenson was below par against Edwin De Los Santos.
The pair were fighting for the vacant lightweight belt on Thursday night and while Stevenson won the bout on a unanimous judges’ decision, many observers - Arum included - felt it was far from entertaining as a spectacle.
Speaking to BoxingScene.com, Arum said he was nevertheless unconcerned because Stevenson was carrying an injury to his shoulder into the fight.
"I think that Shakur had to fight the fight he did because I think he had some injuries, that kinda thing,” Arum said. “I mean, I know we had him visiting doctors in the weeks before the fight for various ailments. So, I think he therefore fought a very cautious fight. But it was a stinker. It was a snoozer, and particularly after the fight before [a 12-round majority draw between Emanuel Navarrete and Robson Conceicao], which was one of the best fights of the year.”
He added: “I didn’t know specifically [what was wrong with Stevenson] because I was out of town.
“But [Top Rank’s] Dena [duBoef, Arum’s stepdaughter] reported to me that he went to see this doctor and that doctor for various ailments about two or three weeks leading up to the fight. So, I was quite aware of that. It was a shoulder problem that he had. I don’t know specifically, but that’s what I was told not last night, but during the time that it was happening.”
Arum said that Stevenson might need to dial down the intensity of his training to avoid a repeat of the situation.
“He’s a very competitive kid,” Arum said. “And so, he doesn’t train like a real seasoned pro would, just to accomplish certain things working up to the fight. He makes every training session a battle. You know what I mean? You can’t do that. I think that’s a bad lesson he learned from [Terence] Crawford. I think Crawford, when he spars, you know, he’s an older fighter, but Crawford is a tremendous competitor and when he spars he lets it all hang out.
“You’re judged by your last fight, but he’s a young guy and, you know, if in his next performance, which I expect will be a scintillating performance, people will forget last night. If he was reaching the end of his career, I think people would say, ‘Whoa! Maybe he doesn’t have it anymore,’ that kind of thing. But he’s not. He’s a young guy and, you know, he’s just beginning to reach his potential.”