Shakur Stevenson film study: A defensive boxing masterclass

Shakur Stevenson is incredibly frustrating to watch. But fighting him is even more frustrating. Let’s take a few minutes and see what makes Shakur Stevenson so hard to hit and why he’s such a difficult fighter to beat.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:25 Hand Fighting
4:08 Shakur Stevenson and the shoulder roll
6:59 Countering & offense

Hand fighting is the start of Shakur Stevenson’s defensive approach. Modeled off of Andre Ward and those before him, Shakur Stevenson makes it incredible difficult to hit him. He puts a glove in the way of almost every punch that comes his way.

Shakur Stevenson’s shoulder roll is the most frustrating part of his fighting. He’s so good at making people miss. He learns from his mistakes. Paired with hand checking, Shakur Stevenson is elusive as they come.

Shakur Stevenson does get his fair share of criticism for not being offensive enough. Some counter options are available and Shakur Stevenson could benefit from improving in these areas.