He’s yet to lose a round at these Olympics. With Mayweather urging him on from ringside, Stevenson went to the body to take the opening round. I came here for gold.
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“In the third round I’ve got to finish it off, put the icing on the cake. But I got it done”.
“I wasn’t expecting him to come”, Stevenson said after the win. “He’s been in the same situation before and he’s mastered boxing so, of course, I have to listen when I hear Floyd talking”.
“I’m like. I gotta stay focused even though that’s Floyd Mayweather right there, but it kind of got me hyped”, Stevenson said.
Compared to Nikitin, Stevenson never let up against Tsendbaatar, despite the many hits his opponent was able to land.
Bantamweight Shakur Stevenson kept his flawless record alive against global competition with a unanimous decision victory Tuesday against Mongolia’s Tsendbaatar Erdenebat at Riocentro Pavilion 6.
Still: Stevenson, with his longer reach, kept the Mongolian off balance.
“It was a B- performance”.
Last week, American light flyweight Nico Hernandez, a 20-year-old from Wichita, Kansas, ended the drought by claiming a bronze medal, the first medal for the USA men since heavyweight Deontay Wilder received a bronze at the 2008 Games in Beijing.
Stevenson says that while that’s nice, he wants to move up the podium. Stevenson will face a tough task against Nikitin in the semifinals. After Tuesday’s match, he was also asked how he can counter what appears to be some judges’ tendency toward decisions with which many boxing fans have disagreed. “It was better than yesterday but I’ve got to box a little bit better”, said Stevenson after making it two comfortable wins in two. But he added, “I felt Conlan made it clear, honestly. I won them hands down”, Russell said. Conlan tossed a pamphlet to the ground as he left the arena, shaking his head.
Discussing his upcoming bout with Nikitin, Stevenson said he’ll try to keep his distance if he can.
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“In the [second and third] rounds, I believe I pulled away from him”, Russell said. “But I plan on going in and focusing on what I do, and not worry about judges”.
