ATLANTA – Shakur Stevenson dominated Jamel Herring from the opening bell on Saturday, scoring a 10th-round TKO over the former Marine to claim the WBO junior lightweight title. The bout headlined a Top Rank on ESPN show from the State Farm Arena.

“Jamel Herring is a great fighter,” Stevenson said after the fight. “He’s tough, he has great boxing skills. I’m just better than him.”

“I want to be a superstar in the sport. I’m here to last. I take my craft very seriously. I’m disciplined.”

Moments later, Stevenson called out fellow undefeated 130-pound titleholder and Top Rank stablemate Oscar Valdez.

“There’s only one fight left at the end of the day. Oscar can’t keep ducking. It’s time for him to fight. There’s nothing else to look forward to. The 130-pound division needs to unify. Let’s get it!”

Stevenson was too fast, too sharp and too strong for Herring to handle. Photo by Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Herring simply could not keep up with Stevenson’s speed. The Newark, New Jersey native started fast, pumping a hard jab that scored early and often. Herring did his best to counter, but always appeared to be a split-second behind.

“He’s sharp and slick,” said the New York native. “His hand-eye coordination is very good. No excuses. He was just the better man tonight.”

Added Herring’s trainer Brian McIntyre, “Younger, faster. He was sharp tonight.”

Herring suffered a small cut over his left eye in the middle rounds, but it didn’t appear to trouble him much. However, a big cut over his right eye opened up in the tenth round. Blood immediately came streaming out. So much so, that referee Mark Nelson had the ringside physician take a look. Stevenson immediately seized on the opportunity, teeing off on Herring and pushing him back. Nelson didn’t like what he saw, and called off the fight, giving Stevenson the TKO10 win.

In case you weren’t in the building tonight … here’s the TR Ringside view of @ShakurStevenson’s emphatic finish 😱#HerringvsStevenson | #AndNew pic.twitter.com/qhHBb2Se0s

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) October 24, 2021

“I smelled blood,” said Stevenson. “I saw he was bleeding and was like, “OK, I have to attack the cut”.”

According to CompuBox, Stevenson landed 164 of 530 total punches (31%), including 23 to the body. Herring landed 87 of 436 (20%), including 31 shots downstairs. Stevenson has now outlanded his opponents for 43 consecutive rounds.

Official attendance was listed at a disappointing 5,123. It was a sparse, yet lively crowd. Most sports fans in the Atlanta area were at Truist Park to watch game six of the NLCS between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Just before the start of the main event, it was announced in the arena that the Braves had won and were going to the World Series. The crowd erupted and began doing the famed “Tomahawk Chop”.

Xander Zayas had the look of Prospect of the Year vs. Karpency. Photo by Mikey Williams / Top Rank

In the co-main, undefeated Puerto Rican middleweight prospect Xander Zayas improved to 11-0 (8 KOs) with a fourth-round stoppage over Dan Karpency. It was target practice from the onset. Karpency showed some defensive ability early on, but Zayas systematically broke him down. By the end of the fourth round, Karpency’s face was a bloody mess. His corner wisely threw in the towel at the end of the round, giving Zayas the TKO win.

In the TV opener, Nico Walsh Ali scored a third-round TKO over James Westley II to improve to 2-0 (2 KOs). After a competitive opening round, Ali dropped Westley toward the end of the second with a counter right hand. Westley made it to his feet and finished the round, but was down on the canvas again at the beginning of the third. Although he got up once again, the referee had seen enough and called off the fight. The crowd didn’t like it, as most thought Westley could have fought on. Either way, it was an exciting win for Ali, who showed some flashes of advanced offensive skill.

UNDERCARD RESULTS

Evan Holyfield improved to 8-0 (6 KOs) with a one-punch KO win over Charles Stanford. The 23-year-old landed a left hook – right cross combo 30 seconds into the second round that sent Stanford down for the count. In fact, he remained on the canvas for several minutes. Evan’s father, the legendary Evander Holyfield, sat ringside, proud of his son. The Atlanta crowd ate it up.

Troy Isley improved to 3-0 (2 KOs) with a first-round stoppage over Nicholi Navarro in a six-round middleweight bout.

Eric Palmer scored an upset split decision win over local fighter Roddricus Livsey, who came into their six-round welterweight fight undefeated. Palmer improved to 13-14-5 (1 KO) while Livsey, from Atlanta, dropped to 8-1-1 (5 KOs).

Haven Brady Jr scored a unanimous decision win over Roberto Negrete in a four-round featherweight bout. Brady improved to 4-0 (3 KOs), it was the first time he went the distance in his young pro career.

Antoine Cobb scored a thrilling TKO1 win over Jerrion Campbell in his pro debut. The Chicago native landed the proverbial “one hitter quitter” about a minute into the opening round of their welterweight bout.

Lightweights Harley Mederos and Deljerro Revello opened the ESPN+ broadcast of the undercard. Mederos won a unanimous decision after four rounds to improve to 2-0 (1 KO).

Michael Montero can be found on social media via @MonteroOnBoxing. His podcast “The Neutral Corner” can be seen every Monday on TheRingDigital YouTube channel, and heard on audio podcast platforms around the world.