Herring vs Stevenson

WBO super featherweight champion  Jamel  ‘Semper Fi’ Herring is ready to hand #1 Shakur Stevenson Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) and Stevenson (16-0, 8 KOs) will be meeting in the main event on ESPN & ESPN Deportes. The televised portion of the card begins at 10:30 ET.

Jamel believes Stevenson, 24, has a prominent “chip on his shoulder” after the way he performed in his last fight against Jeremia Nakathila on June 12th, receiving a ton of bad press and boos from the boxing fans, while Shakur won the WBO 130-lb title eliminator against Nakathilia, the way, he performed turned off fans.

Stevenson looked timid and wanted no part of standing his ground after getting a taste of Nakathilia’s power early on in the fourth.

Shakur can’t afford to perform that way on Saturday against Herring if he doesn’t want to be booed out of the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Herring is the type of fighter that can make a runner look bad, which is why Stevenson must show more courage on Saturday than he did against Nakathila.

“I’m not upset with it being in Atlanta because of recent memory; it’s been growing, especially when you look at the Tank Davis fights,” said Jamel Herring to seconds out on his fight with Shakur taking place in Atlanta.
“I think it’s going to be a dog fight at times,” said Herring about how he views his fight with Shakur going on Saturday, “and I think it’s going to be a chess match, but there’s going to be times where it’s going to be a dog fight as well because I know he has a lot to prove, especially after his last performance [against Jeremia Nakathila].

“I think he [Stevenson] has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, but definitely you can expect a good fight. At least, I’m going to try and make it a good fight on my end.
“I’m just happy overall that I’m in another big fight,” said Herring. “If you saw the last fight [with Carl Frampton], it could be back in Dubai, and I would be happy with that. For me, as long as they have a ring setup, it doesn’t really matter where the fight is at.

“I’m definitely not looking past Shakur. In looking at the landscape of the division, my overall goal is to become the lineal world champion of the [130-lb] division.

“I feel like with a victory here, the next guy on the list is Oscar Valdez to become not only a two-time world champion but to become a lineal champion as well.
“Of course, that comes to my mind, but I’m solely focused on Shakur Stevenson right now. It’s hard to determine who was better, Frampton or Shakur.