Shakur Stevenson cruises to semifinals, secures Olympic medal

Dan Rafael
ESPN Senior Writer

Before the Rio de Janeiro Olympics began bantamweight Shakur Stevenson was viewed by most as the best hope for the United States men’s boxing team to take home a gold medal.

Now, he is the only hope.

The 19-year-old Stevenson, named after the late rap superstar Tupac Shakur, clinched at least a bronze medal with a unanimous three-round decision – 30-27 on each scorecard — against Tsendbaatar Erdenebat, of Mongolia, in the quarterfinals of the 123-pound weight class on Tuesday.

And he did it with his idol, retired superstar Floyd Mayweather, watching closely because he hopes to sign Stevenson to a promotional contract with his Mayweather Promotions following the conclusion of the Olympics.

“When I came out and saw Floyd Mayweather, I got excited and a little nervous,” Stevenson said. “As soon as I came out of the hall, I saw him right there leaning over the balcony yelling.”

With Capitol Heights, Maryland, light welterweight Gary Antuanne Russell, younger brother of professional featherweight world titleholder (and 2008 U.S. Olympian) Gary Russell Jr., eliminated by Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, of Uzbekistan, in a controversial 2-1 split decision in the quarterfinals of the 141-pound weight class in the bout that followed Stevenson’s win, he is the last man standing of the six American men who qualified to box in Rio.

Stevenson, 2-0 in Rio and 24-0 overall in international competition, will square off with Vladimir Nikitin, of Russia, in the semifinals on Thursday afternoon. Nikitin advanced with a highly controversial decision against Ireland’s Michael Conlan, who was so incensed by the decision that he flipped off the judges at ringside after the bout in an emotional outburst.

Stevenson, of Newark, New Jersey, dominated Erdenebat, who could barely lay a glove on him. Erdenebat was aggressive and tried to impose himself on Stevenson but the American kept the fight on the outside and landed punches from long range. He finished the opening round by working the body.

Stevenson continued to land punches from the outside, including his long jab, leaving Erdenebat a clearly beaten opponent. Throughout the fight, Mayweather was yelling instructions to Stevenson, who said he heard him.

“He kept saying jab and then he kept saying go to the body. I heard him a lot,” Stevenson said. “He’s been in the same situation before and he’s mastered boxing so, of course, I have to listen when I hear Floyd talking.”

Stevenson, however, was not that impressed with his performance.

“It was a B- performance. It was better than (Sunday) but I have to close out the show a little bit better,” Stevenson said. “In the third round, finish it off. Put the icing on the cake. My grandfather (Wali Moses) taught me that boxing is the art of hitting and not being hit so I’ve been doing it since I was a little kid and I’m going to keep doing it.

“He felt my power; I know he felt my power. In the third, I’m thinking maybe he’s going to quit but he was still throwing some wild, loopy shots trying to get the knockout. He hit me probably once or twice but I kept the game plan and I did what I was supposed to do.”

Mayweather, on the other hand, said he was very impressed by Stevenson.

“He did an unbelievable job, very, very (good),” Mayweather told reporters with Stevenson standing next to him and grinning ear to ear. “He’s not a good fighter, he’s a great amateur boxer and someday, he’s going to be a world champion at the professional level, at the highest ranks.”

Mayweather then paid Stevenson the ultimate compliment.

“I see the next Floyd Mayweather,” he said. “If anybody can break my records, this young kid right here can do it. I truly believe in him.”

With Stevenson clinching at least a bronze medal, the United States men, 10-5 so far in Rio, will leave Brazil with two medals following a disastrous 2012 London Games in which they won no boxing medals for the first time ever.

Last week, American light flyweight Nico Hernandez, a 20-year-old from Wichita, Kansas, ended the drought by claiming a bronze medal, the first medal for the U.S. men since heavyweight Deontay Wilder received a bronze at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

But Stevenson still has a chance to claim a gold medal, which no American male fighter has done since Andre Ward won the light heavyweight gold in the 2004 Athens Games.

Stevenson said he plans to be better in the semifinals than he was on Tuesday.
“I felt like I needed to close the show and I didn’t get to close the show the way I wanted to,” Stevenson said. “The next fight I’m going to try to make sure that my third round is just as good as my first. I’ve gotta stay focused and get what I came here for. I didn’t come for silver and I didn’t come for bronze. I’ve got to get the gold.”

Russell, 20, lost his quarterfinal to Gaibnazarov when two judges scored the fight 29-28 for his opponent and one had the same score for him. It was an outcome that raised eyebrows given Russell’s apparent dominance against an unwilling opponent.

Gaibnazarov appeared to give away the first two rounds of the bout as he resorted to practically running around the ring in an effort to avoid contact. The referee warned him for refusing to engage multiple times. Yet, two judges gave the fight to Gaibnazarov. Russell also appeared to win the third round.

Unlike Conlan, Russell showed class in the questionable defeat.

“In the (second and third) rounds, I believe I pulled away from him,” Russell said. “I won them hands down. Even though it was sloppy, I believe I did more than enough to outscore him. I gave it my all. Congratulations to the guy that I fought. He got the victory. Hopefully, he’ll go on and continue to have a great career.

“I’ve got high expectations. I set the bar for myself very high. I’m trying to live up to a family legacy and then some. Outside looking in, I know that a lot of people believe I won.”