TLG
07-31-2016, 01:44 AM
http://pictures.ozy.com/pictures/768xany/8/5/6/93856_gettyimages516593154.jpg
Shakur Stevenson (blue) fights Alberto Ezequiel Melian of Argentina at the American Olympic Qualification Event in Buenos Aires, in March.
Shakur Stevenson’s victory celebrations are multifarious. When the unanimous decision roars through the loudspeakers, America’s boxing prodigy appears, initially, surprised. Sometimes he drops to a knee in elation. Then a calm maturity sets in. Stevenson bounces to his feet, congratulates his opponent with as gracious a hug as two teenage brawlers can muster and turns to his corner with a stone-faced, Stephen Curry-esque nod.
At 19, 123-pound Stevenson is America’s best chance at a boxing gold medal, which has proved elusive since 2004. Before the slick southpaw earned his free trip to Rio de Janeiro, Stevenson was a junior world champion, youth world champion, Youth Olympic gold medalist and Outstanding Boxer at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. He is one of the most decorated amateur fighters in American history. Veteran trainer Dennis Porter expects Stevenson to be a force far beyond the Olympics. “Shakur is America’s top talent,” Porter tells OZY. “After this summer, every promoter will be coming for his signature.” Stevenson’s already drawing comparisons to the greatest boxer of this generation — Floyd Mayweather — but he says he “doesn’t worry much about that.”
Stevenson has a chance to reenergize a fading American boxing scene and inhabit the vacuum left behind as this generation’s celebrity fighters, particularly Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, age out. Both of those superstars have been quick, technically sound welterweights and middleweights with dynamic personas to boot. Fight fans might just fall in love with how Stevenson tactfully shreds opponents; casual viewers could stay on for his post-fight press conferences.
The teenager’s strengths: a piercing jab and in-fight adaptability. “He’s a chess master. When the first round ends, he’s already broken his opponent mentally,” Kay Koroma, Stevenson’s trainer, and Team USA coach, tells OZY. He stalks opponents in the ring, skillfully dodging damage and peppering his foe with lightning-quick shots — all while flashing his 1,000-watt grin. As Porter puts it: “Nobody’s knocked that smile off.”
Read more here;
hxxp://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/americas-best-chance-at-boxing-gold/70093?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=US
Shakur Stevenson (blue) fights Alberto Ezequiel Melian of Argentina at the American Olympic Qualification Event in Buenos Aires, in March.
Shakur Stevenson’s victory celebrations are multifarious. When the unanimous decision roars through the loudspeakers, America’s boxing prodigy appears, initially, surprised. Sometimes he drops to a knee in elation. Then a calm maturity sets in. Stevenson bounces to his feet, congratulates his opponent with as gracious a hug as two teenage brawlers can muster and turns to his corner with a stone-faced, Stephen Curry-esque nod.
At 19, 123-pound Stevenson is America’s best chance at a boxing gold medal, which has proved elusive since 2004. Before the slick southpaw earned his free trip to Rio de Janeiro, Stevenson was a junior world champion, youth world champion, Youth Olympic gold medalist and Outstanding Boxer at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. He is one of the most decorated amateur fighters in American history. Veteran trainer Dennis Porter expects Stevenson to be a force far beyond the Olympics. “Shakur is America’s top talent,” Porter tells OZY. “After this summer, every promoter will be coming for his signature.” Stevenson’s already drawing comparisons to the greatest boxer of this generation — Floyd Mayweather — but he says he “doesn’t worry much about that.”
Stevenson has a chance to reenergize a fading American boxing scene and inhabit the vacuum left behind as this generation’s celebrity fighters, particularly Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, age out. Both of those superstars have been quick, technically sound welterweights and middleweights with dynamic personas to boot. Fight fans might just fall in love with how Stevenson tactfully shreds opponents; casual viewers could stay on for his post-fight press conferences.
The teenager’s strengths: a piercing jab and in-fight adaptability. “He’s a chess master. When the first round ends, he’s already broken his opponent mentally,” Kay Koroma, Stevenson’s trainer, and Team USA coach, tells OZY. He stalks opponents in the ring, skillfully dodging damage and peppering his foe with lightning-quick shots — all while flashing his 1,000-watt grin. As Porter puts it: “Nobody’s knocked that smile off.”
Read more here;
hxxp://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/americas-best-chance-at-boxing-gold/70093?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=US