Robert Garcia had some scouting work to do. Considering that he has Raymond Muratalla in his stable, the longtime trainer figured that it made the most sense to hop on a flight and head to Vegas.
This past Thursday, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Shakur Stevenson and Edwin De Los Santos squared off in the main event. Before the two officially got it on, Garcia had a strong feeling that the former Olympic silver medalist would be too good offensively and defensively, too sharp. Well, he was right about the latter.
Stevenson was practically impossible to hit all night. He ducked when De Los Santos threw huge looping left hands, and craftily took a step back when his man tried to get too close. Offensively, however, Stevenson was myopic.
For most of the rounds, Stevenson stared at De Los Santos, refusing to throw a single punch. When he did, it was the same mundane jab over and over again. Garcia gave the 26-year-old a pass in the first three minutes. He was also forgiving in the second. However, it took only a few more rounds before he grabbed his bags and headed out the door.
“I walked out of the arena after the fourth round,” Garcia told ThaBoxingVoice.
The moment Garcia left, boos reverberated throughout the arena. Stevenson though, didn’t care. He simply shrugged his shoulders and continued to move around the ring, refusing to engage. With 12 incredibly boring rounds in the bank, Stevenson was rewarded with the vacant WBC lightweight title. His fanbase, nevertheless, let him have it.
After being lambasted by practically everyone in boxing circles, Stevenson simply accepted the harsh criticism. Bob Arum, however, his longtime promoter, revealed that Stevenson suffered a severe shoulder injury well before entering the ring.
Whether his words were genuine or not, has no effect on how Garcia is feeling. This isn’t the first time he’s watched Stevenson fight listlessly. Of course, with Muratalla fighting in the same division and underneath the same promotional banner, a matchup between them could become a reality in the immediate future.
Garcia didn’t go as far as to say that Muratalla would beat the newly crowned champ but he did conclude that Stevenson’s overall game needs to bring a bit more excitement to the table.
“He just fights too cautiously and too careful and doesn’t take a chance. He’ll do that against Muratalla too because Muratalla is also a power puncher. It would be very awkward and very difficult. He is a great fighter but he’s very careful when he’s fighting a power puncher.”