But it's my great pleasure to welcome into the podcast this week. It's a
two division world champion, one of the best fighters in boxing. It is
Shakhorse Stevenson scha Court. Thank you very much for doing this and welcome to
our show. Was good, Dan, was good, Everything good. Everything's
good with me. Also, thank you so much. So you're you're out
in Vegas right now training. You have a very significant fight coming up.
You're looking to win a world title in a third weight class, going for
the vacant WBC lightweight title November sixteenth, that's the ESPN main event at the
T Mobile Arena. You're taking on Edwin Delos Santos. It took a while
to get your opponent, but you finally got one. And my first question
for you is, as I mentioned, you're going to go for your title,
for a title and a third weight class. You've been a champion at
featherweight, You've been a unified champion in the junior lightweight division. You're only
twenty six years old. You're obviously creating all kinds of legacy for yourself.
What would it mean to you to become a three division champion, especially at
such a young age In this sport. I think that it would mean a
lot for me to become a three division world champion. I think that you
definitely gotta put me higher up on the powerful pound list. I mean,
just be just winning titles in every weight class that I'm just going to and
dominated. I think that that's gonna put me higher up on the list.
So well, higher up on the list, you know, I think you.
I mean, I have you on my pound for pound lists for sure,
But you're twenty and oh with ten knockouts, and you mentioned about winning
titles and doing so, you know, pretty easily. I guess do you
feel like, through your first twenty fights that you've had any opponents that have
really given you a difficult fight? Because when I look at your resume,
I see your best opponents. I think of guys like Oscar Valdez, Jamel
Herring, Robson, Konsisao, Jem Ryan, Nakatiya, Joet Gonzalez. I
mean, these are probably the best guys you faced. Off the top of
my head, you beat every single one of them very very easily. Has
anybody given you competition? In your mind? Nah, I ain't nobody give
me no competition in a fight. Yet. But that's not to take away
from no fighters. I think that they all are really good fighters, but
I think the al levels above them. So nah, I don't think that
nobody really gave me a real competition. Yet. You became the mandatory challenger
for this title with your victory over Yoshino back in April. That was Devin
Haney. You know, he was undisputed at that time. Did you think
back then that Hani would fight you? And if not, are you at
all disappointed that he decided to instead? You know, he's pursuing the WBC
title at the junior welterweight division against Regis Program in December. Did you think
he would fight you? And are you disappointed with that he didn't? Yeah?
I thought that he would, just because he was calling in and doing
all the things that he was doing before, I mean after my fight,
So yeah, I thought I thought that he would. But I think deep
down inside I knew that he was ready to line it up with me,
understood. I mean, he is going, like you mentioned, you're going
for your history for a third weight class. I guess he looks at it
like he's going for his own in a second way class, having been undisputed
in his weight division now moving up sort of see the reasons, even if
you would have liked to fight him, I mean, I think he just
knew. He knew when I got there, it was trying to go up
and wait. I think that fighting me would have been like a really big
risk for him. Man, coming off of the fight that he just had
with li Muchhenko. I think his confidence was really low, so he tried
to like play around and play a little social media games. But truthfully,
I don't think, like deep down he wanted to get it in the ring
with me. Well, once he vacated and went, you know, made
the decision to go up and pursue the Regius prograde fight. The WBC went
through its process, the title was vacant, so they just go down the
line. You were number one contender from your victory over Yoshina. As I
mentioned, Lomachenko could have been the opponent. He opted not to fight you
and take the rest of the year off. Then they went to the pit
Bull Cruise, he turned it down. Everybody kind of thinks that he said
it to a rematch with Tank Davis in the early part of next year.
What did you think about those two guys not fighting you, especially Lomachenko,
which seemed like it would have been a super interesting fight, a fight that
could have been major, both with the same promoter. A lot of people
thought he deserved the victory against HAINI. I was really disappointed in the fact
that he didn't want to fight me. From what I heard, he had
got offered the most money in his career. He's at the tail end of
his career right now, so I didn't get the point of not fighting me.
I didn't see why not. The only thing I could think of is
he knowed that I'm the truth too. He knew that it would have been
a hard task. But with Pitbull Cools, he already shown several times that
he got no interest in getting in the ring with me. I think that
his dad and his team is scared. I think that they don't really want
to do that today. So they may have something to do with the fact
that maybe he can make a bit more money against Tank Davis in the rematch.
But understand, I understand your point of view. I disagree with that
because he was offered that before the rematch came into play. Okay, well,
the rematch, it is not the first time, my last fight at
Yoshi. No, that was my first fight at He was offered that fight
already. Okay, Well, once those two guys decided they were out of
the situation, then they went to Frank Martin, who was next in line,
the undefeated fighter, who was aligned with Errol Spence with PBC TGB Promotions,
and they actually made a deal with Top Rank to do the fight.
Looked like it was on the purse. Spid was canceled by the WBC,
and then suddenly he decided not to take it, not for reasons that had
anything to do with Team schakor Stevenson or Top Rank, but his own internal
whatever was going on with his people. I saw you guys go back and
forth about it. I mean some would say he just flat out ducty.
What's your thoughts about his you know, he said he would do the fight,
and then he didn't do the fight after they made a deal. I
agree with the people that said he just flight out ducked me. Like I
said, with him, he was he was offered to fight. He said
yes. Clearly somebody on his team wanted to fight. They wasn't scared for
the fight that happened or whoever accepted the fight wasn't scared. So, man,
I think I think that dude got cold feet out of DM that dude
and had a conversation with him. Man, that dude was telling me a
whole bunch of rumors that he heard and not speaking no factual information. But
I told him the facts of the fight. I told him how much the
fight was gonna generate, what the numbers was, and I explained to him.
And the fact is he was offered quadruple more than he haven't made in
his career. So if she wanted to sit there and act like it wasn't
a duck, that's the biggest line and world. So tell me if you
think that this is accurate. I think about it like this. You got
a chance to make the most money you ever made, no question. You
have a chance to become the WBC lightweight world champion, something that boxers covet
as soon as they think they want to become a professional fighter to win a
world championship. And if you go in the ring and you quit yourself in
a solid manner, even if you lose, especially to a talent, then
fighter like share course Stevenson, it's like your career is over. Meanwhile,
he turns it down, has nothing scheduled that I'm aware of, nothing even
in the rumor mill about something, and he may sit out the rest of
the year and not make a paycheck. Does that seem kind of crazy to
you? Yeah, it seemed crazy to me, because not only that,
the numbers that he fight in front of the crowds that I seen and fight
in front of is like little small crowds. He never been on like a
bigger stage and been involved in in a big event, and him being in
the ring with me would have been like the biggest event that he ever been
involved in. I can't see why somebody would turn that down unless they knew,
like, Okay, I'm gonna lose. I think that's what he really
was thinking. Well, Delo Santos manned up and he took the fight.
I've seen him fight a few times. He's got a couple of solid wins
in a row on his record. He's got the nice knockout against Jose Valanzuela,
who was undefeated, was considered a rising prospect, rising kind of contender.
He has that win over Adornio by decision. Uh, what is your
perspective on del Santos' abilities and and uh and just the fact that he took
the fight, and I am on record saying I think it's an easy fight
for sure. Of course, Stevenson, to be honest with you, if
you come to the ring the way you typically do, and I'm not just
kissing your rear end because we're doing an interview. No, I think that
Dela Santos is a great fighter. Oh, I can't taint nothing new wis
from Dela Santo's uh, from a little bit of film that I did see
on home far as. I think I'll watch this fight with Joseph Dno and
scenes right with Vinna whatever his name is, Alan Zuela. Yeah, yeah,
that guy. I think that he performed good. I mean, he's
a boxer, puncher, he got great movement, and I think that he
possesses a more difficult task than the public I c. So we'll see though,
Yeah, we will see. One thing that intrigues me about the card,
besides just seeing you guys in the ring for the title in the main
event, was your co feature on that show? Is the WBO's junior lightweight
champion Emmanuel never Atte, a title that you once had he is gonna he's
already won titles in three red last As his opponent that night, he's defending
against Robson Kosasaw, a guy who you very easily defeated not that long ago.
It seems pretty obvious to me and anybody that pays attention to such things
that top ranks laying the groundwork for who they think will be the WBC Lightweight
Championship. Course Stevenson to eventually take on Emanuel never Atte when he moves up
to lightweight. Is that something that interests you and am I on the right
path there? Oh? Yeah, it definitely interests me. I think a
lot of people think that this dude is a boogeyman and he's he's a hell
of a strong fighter that they think that he is, and he knocking out
guys and beating up guys quote unquote worse than me, right, which I
disagree with, Like you really pay them guys, is winning rounds with him,
and there's a lot of with me, They was losing a lot of
them arounds. So honestly, yeah, I'm definitely down for it. Uh,
we both got to get past the task that we got in front of
us coming November sixteenth from me, he got a good fighter and Robinson cause
sur front him, and I got a good fighter in Edwin Della Santo's.
So, honestly, I think that what you got to say, focused and
the fight should have the next when you're getting ready for your fight, that
now you're gonna be peeking out on the TV screen in your dressing room checking
out what he's doing. No, I ain't gonna be checking it out.
I already seen a fight several times. It's the same shit I heard h
strong and slow, slow as flugged. Though. I had somebody suggest to
me when that fight when when he was put on your card and it seemed
clear that the that the plan moving ahead as long as everybody wins between you
two guys on the sixteenth, that that it reminded them the matchup between yourself
and Everette as what might be this era's version, if you will, of
a top ranked fight from years ago. Style wise, anyway, when Floyd
Mayweather fought Jose Luis Castillo, you know, was a brawling kind of Mexican
fighter with a good reputation and a and a fun style to watch against a
really technically skilled black American boxer who had all kinds of talent. Do you
kind of see where they're coming from? Do you see that at all?
Hear? No. No, I think Castillo was more defensively sound and more
tighter in Navaratnarete is wreck is awkward? Wow? Nah, I don't.
I don't. I don't think that's a similar fight or a similar to compare
that to me and Aretna. Okay, that's fair. I just wanted to
wrap up with this. I know that this fight is kind of on an
unusual night. It's a Thursday night, uh, not the normal Saturday night
for the major main events. And the reason obviously is because of everything that's
happening that week in Las Vegas. They have a huge event with the Formula
one race and they've got other activities around it, your boxing match being one
of them. Do you have any thoughts about, uh, fighting like on
that on what is a huge week for the city, and also, you
know, your first time in a main event at a place like the Timobile
Arena, which is the premier venue in Las Vegas at the moment for boxing.
Uh No, I don't. I'm just focused. I'm ready. I'm
ready to put on the show. I'm glad that I'm getting a chance to
fight it on a big stage. I'm appreciative Tom Ring. I appreciate it
too, Okay, everybody that said, this event up and I can't wait
to show out. I can't wait to watch the show out. I appreciate
you taking the time to talk to me today about it all, and I
look forward to watching fights. She've wet a very good luck in the fight
coming up November sixteenth. Gotcha,