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Shakur Stevenson Wiki Bio
American professional boxer Ash-Shakur Stevenson was born in Newark, New Jersey USA, on 28 June 1997, making Cancer his zodiac sign. Shakur’s perhaps known better by his nickname ‘Sugar’, and he’s a former world champion in two weight categories, having been the World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion, and both the WBO and the World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight champion.
Various magazines, websites and TV networks have ranked Shakur the best super featherweight boxer in the world, including ESPN, BoxRec and Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Education and early life
Shakur was raised alongside his eight younger siblings in Newark, by their stepfather Shahid Guyton and mother Malikah Stevenson; Shakur’s biological father, who was originally from Puerto Rico wasn’t there during his upbringing, but Shakur hasn’t disclosed any details concerning him.
He was five years old when he began practicing boxing under his grandfather Wali Moses’ guidance, and while growing up he mostly looked up to American former professional boxer Andre Michael Ward. He studied at a local high school and was interested in a couple of activities during his four years there, including playing football and running track, while Shakur also appeared in several school plays, performing supporting characters.
He matriculated in 2015 and then chose not to pursue a college degree, but to remain focused on boxing.
Career beginnings
Shakur was a successful youth and amateur boxer, while what marked his early career was winning both the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2014 Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) Youth World Championship.
He was 18 when he triumphed at the Senior US Olympic Trials and thus proceeded to compete for the US at the 2016 Summer Olympics; he won silver, after having lost to Robeisy Ramirez in the final match, while Claressa Shields, who boxed for the US in the female category won gold.
Going professional
Shakur became a professional boxer on 9 February 2017, after having signed a contract with Top Rank, while Andre Ward became his manager.
He won his first professional bout on 22 April 2017, defeating American boxer Edgar Brito via technical knockout in the fifth round; Shakur was ahead according to all three judges, and was the winner of every previous round.
He faced Argentinian boxer Carlos Suarez on 20 May 2017, knocking him out in the first round after only two minutes and 35 seconds; his third match was a win against Argentinian boxer David Michel Paz on 19 August 2017, with all three judges ruling in Shakur’s favor. On 9 December 2017, Shakur won against Oscar Mendoza, and then against Juan Tapia on 7 February 2018.
Shakur’s first title match was against Joet Gonzalez on 26 October 2019, for the vacant WBO featherweight title; Joet was ranked second best featherweight boxer, and the two men weren’t on good terms because Shakur had previously dated his younger sister Jajaira for several years. Shakur won via unanimous decision, having had 10 points more than Joet on all three scorecards, thus becoming the WBO featherweight champion; he didn’t defend his title a single time, as he vacated it on 9 July 2020 to move up to the super featherweight category.
He defeated Toka Khan Clary on 12 December 2020 via unanimous decision, and then knocked out Jeremiah Nakathila in the fourth round on 12 June 2021, thus becoming the WBO interim super featherweight champion.
Shakur faced WBO super featherweight champion James Herring on 23 October 2021, knocking him out in the 10th round and thus becoming a world champion in two categories; he was also ahead of James on all three scorecards.
What a masterclass performance by Shakur Stevenson. Speed, quickness, counterpunching, defense – the entire repertoire was on full display tonight. Oscar Valdez is a great fighter, and Shakur made him look completely average. #ValdezStevensonpic.twitter.com/kiUFkEJDHc
— WG (@NvictusManeo) May 1, 2022
It was confirmed on 19 January 2022 that Shakur would face WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez on 30 April 2022; Shakur won via unanimous decision. He was then to defend his title against Robson Conceicao but missed weight and was thus stripped of his super featherweight title; Shakur still faced Robson and defeated him via unanimous decision on 23 September 2022. He then revealed that he would be moving up to lightweight.
Shakur’s most recent fight was against WBC Shuichiro Yoshino on 8 April 2023, with Shakur knocking him out in the sixth round; WBC had previously tried to order Isaac Cruz, William Zepeda and George Kambosos Jr. to fight Shakur, but all three men refused.
Love life and relationships
Shakur avoids speaking about his love life in public, but has still allowed his fans a glimpse into it. From 2013 through 2019, he was in a relationship with Jajaira Gonzalez; her boxer brother Joet was against the relationship, as well as her father. Even though Shakur tried to talk to Joet after their match, wanting the two men to reconcile, Joet refused any interaction with Shakur. It remains unknown what led to Jajaira and Shakur’s split.
Shakur’s daughter was born in 2021, but her mother’s name remains undisclosed.
He’s today engaged to American rapper and singer Michelle Ragston, who’s perhaps known better as ‘Young Lyric’.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Shakur and another boxer David Grayton were involved in a fight in a parking garage in South Beach, Miami; they made comments about the people who were spending time in the garage, which led to the fight. Shakur was arrested on 1 July 2018, and on 18 July ordered to do 50 hours of community service, while he was also put on one-year probation; he had previously paid for the victim’s hospital bill.
More than a million people are following Shakur on Instagram today, and he’s posted close to 200 pictures and videos, with most of these being about boxing.
He works out at the gym every day, while he also boxes on a daily basis.
Shakur’s a huge fan of American actor Danny Glover, while some of his favorite movies include “Predator 2”, “Lethal Weapon” and “Silverado”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Shakur’s age is 25. He has brown eyes and black hair, is 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall and weighs around 135lbs (61kgs).
Shakur’s net worth’s been conservatively estimated at over $3.5 million, as of June 2023.
