Edwin De Los Santos expects Shakur Stevenson to be on his bike, trying to keep away from his power on Thursday night when they meet in the main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It’s easy to predict what Shakur will do in this fight because it’s what he’s always done when facing someone with power. He relies on his pull-back style, and he does everything he can to avoid getting clipped, which makes his fights on the dull side.
It’s important that Shakur do his utmost on Thursday night to try and entertain the boxing public because there will be a lot of fans watching live on ESPN.
Also, with Shakur’s contract ending soon with Top Rank, it’s important for him to look great in this fight so he can get the idea he wants.
Shakur (20-0, 10 KOs) didn’t look comfortable standing in front of the hard-hitting De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KOs) during today’s face-off at their final press conference ahead of their clash on ESPN on Thursday night.
De Los Santos says he saw “nervousness” in the eyes of Shakur, who told him that he “looks small.” However, both guys appeared to be the same size. Shakur was wearing a large jacket, which gave the appearance of size, but basically, he was no bigger than De Los Santos.
Obviously, there’s a huge difference in punching power, as De Los Santos has massive one-punch power and can hurt his opponents even when he doesn’t connect cleanly.
De Los Santos says Shakur will “obey” him
“I saw a little bit of nervousness in his eyes. He got a little confident when I started speaking. He better be focused, or I’m going to make him focused,” said Edwin De Los Santos to the media when asked what he saw in the eyes of Shakur Stevenson during their face-off in today’s final press conference.
Shakur’s usual confidence has been missing during the build-up to this fight, and you can tell that he’s nervous about what to expect from De Los Santos.
He obviously saw the power that De Los Santos showed in his recent wins against Joseph Adorno and Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela, and he doesn’t want to get hit with those shots.
“I didn’t really focus on a name. What I focused on was it was for a world title, and that’s what I’ve been wanting. That’s why I accepted it against Shakur. That’s who it is,” De Los Santos continued.
“A knockout comes on itself. I’m focused on getting a decision. So I can show the world that I’m a complete boxer. This was the best training camp that I ever had. It was one of the best camps that I ever had in my career as a boxer. I’m not 100% ready. I’m 2000% ready.”
De Los Santos will have to load up on his punches if he wants a knockout because Shakur has a good enough chin to take his punches if he connects without full power.
“He’s obeying orders, so when I have something for him, he’ll obey as well,” said De Los Santos. “He’s going to come to try to survive. He’s not going to come and try and stand with me because he knows what’s going to be in store for him.
“That’s his thought process. Everyone has their own opinion, and on November 16th, everyone is going to know what I’m going to do,” said De Los Santos when told that Shakur said that he’s going to attempt to box at first, and when that doesn’t work, he’s going to go for broke by trying to brawl. That won’t work either.
“He said I look small. I told him it was because of my clothing, so I took off my shirt. I showed him my abs, and he showed me his abs, and I’m stronger than he is,” said De Los Santos.
Shakur sounded insecure when talking about his being bigger than De Los Santos because why would it matter? Even if Shakur is bigger, it’s already well-documented that he can’t punch.
“Yeah, it’s the first time that he’s fought someone of my caliber, and it’s going to be the toughest fight of his career,” said De Los Santos about Shakur.
