Shakur Stevenson denied Josh Padley’s dream of becoming world champion despite an incredibly brave display.
Stevenson was due to fight Floyd Schofield Jr on the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard, but his American withdrew after falling ill on fight week.
He was sensationally replaced by undefeated boxer and part-time electrician Josh Padley, who was making a huge Rocky-style step-up to fight for the WBC lightweight title.
Padley had all the odds stacked against him, taking the fight on three days’ notice, and taking his first-ever step to world level after beating Mark Chamberlain last September.
But he showed some incredible courage to turn up and put on a brave display and made it all the way to the ninth round.
Stevenson’s persistent work to the body paid off in the ninth stanza, dropping his rival three times before the towel came in from Padley’s corner.
It was an incredible effort and he was cheered by the crowd who were firmly on his side, but he was just up against it, and succumbed to a brutal stoppage.
Padley had the dream to go in on less than a week’s notice and inflict one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
Stevenson came in as the overwhelming favourite, but Padley started in bright fashion looking to try and start early on.
But the quality started to show in the second round as Stevenson put his foot on the gas, and landed some quick shots with his lightning fast hands.
The Briton was certainly game and trying to land his own shots, but the champion looked relaxed and fluid, boxing neatly and starting to go through the gears.
And his breakthrough came in the third landing the best punch of the fight so far with a textbook left hand which drew a groan from the crowd, but Padley took it well.
On three days’ notice, Padley showed determination and bravery against a class opponent, but Stevenson was in total cruise control but didn’t look close to closing the show.
The American started to try and throw the punches in bunches, and Padley was coming close to reaching the halfway stage as Stevenson unleashed a barrage at last in the fifth.
It was an electric turn in momentum for the WBC king, who started to try and put on a show, but the Yorkshire native left no stone unturned and tried to fight back.
His barrages continued in the sixth and seventh, but he looked stunned as Padley took the shots and bit down on his gumshield, then let his own hands go.
In the ninth, the shots started to look to hit their mark with damage taken for Padley who hit the canvas after some more crippling work, as his task looked uphill.
Incredibly like a real warrior, he fought back and refused to wilt under pressure, with Stevenson working the body and crushing him to the canvas twice more.
Unfortunately the towel came in before the tenth round began and his dreams were ended.
Padley had taken some big shots to the body and not through any fault of his own, was beaten by a fluent display from the champion.
Stevenson will now be looking to the bigger and better fights, with fans calling for him to pursue a huge all-American unification showdown with Gervonta Davis.
It is unlikely Schofield will get another shot at Stevenson for now, given the pre-fight drama.
The American has insisted he will only fight twice each year due to injuries sustained to his hands.
It could line up a summer return, as he looks to progress at lightweight and secure the biggest fights available.
