Via Brian Webber: Shakur Stevenson vehemently disagrees with the outcome of last Saturday’s decisive twelfth round majority win for George Kambosos Jr (21-2, 10 KOs) over Maxi Hughes (26-5-2, 5 KOs), believing it to be a prime example of a heist with the wrong winner in their IBF lightweight title elimination match at Firelake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
(Allowed: Mikey Williams/Top Rated)
Like many fans in the ring and on social media, Shakkur made Hughes win the match. The umpires felt otherwise, awarding it to Kambosos’ A-side match with the scores 114-114, 117-111 and 115-113.
Hughes made Kambosos look really bad, like a second-rate boxer, with the ease with which he beat him. It’s unclear what the three Oklahoma judges were thinking when they gave their scores, but the world disagreed with them.
Hughes hit Kambosos with his left hand on the body and head all night causing him to miss. There were only a few rounds to go, and Kamboso seemed to have won only one. It was a complete class, and anyone with wide eyes could see it.
When Shakur was asked if he wanted to fight the Kambosos next, he immediately made a face and said he was not interested.
You can understand why Shakur doesn’t want to fight Kambosos because A. He will be defiled for fighting a guy who is about to win a controversial victory. B. He will be labeled a cherry picker. C. Chances are he was robbed too.
Shakur Stevenson: “I think it was a robbery. I think Maxi is a good fighter, and I think he’s a better fighter.”
Bernardo Osuna: “You’ve seen enough boxing and been here long enough. When you get the 117-111 scorecard the other way around, and that’s what’s really going to dominate the headlines rather than the performance that Maxi Hughes put out.”
Shakur: “I think judges should be held to a higher standard. I think they should focus on boxers, and I think they should do more to be a referee. I feel like they don’t watch the games and pay too much attention to the matches. I think it’s messing with boxing.”
Osuna: “I know you’re paying attention because George Kambosos has been mentioned as a potential competitor for you, as has Vasily Lomachenko. Do you want to fight George Kambosos?”
Shakur: “I want to fight the best of the best. Right now, Kambosos is not on the same level as me. I want to fight Lomachenkos, Devin Haneys, Gervonta Davis. They are the battles that I am looking for. If you see me fighting Kambosos, you know I’ll stop him. That’s how I feel about it.
“I don’t feel he’s at that level, but if I have no other choice and he’s the next to go down, I’ll beat him too.”
Osuna: “I know you want to fight Devin Haney because he is the undisputed lightweight champion. Looks like he got a WBC extension to go up to 140 lbs and make that bout with Regis Prograis. Looks like that will happen. If that happens, you’re number 1 & 2 with Vasily Lomachenko with WBO & WBC. How would that help you if Devin Haney vacated the title?”
Shakur: “Prove it to the world. I wanted to show the world that I was ready for the top dogs, the big dogs in the department. Haney just fought Lomachenko. If he doesn’t want to fight me and it’s just me and Lomachenko, I feel like I want to put on a performance where I beat him and show the world what a great fighter I am.”
Osuna: “That’s exactly what the world needs and what boxing wants.”
Shakur said to Kambosos: “If they don’t fight me, we can, and I will stop you.”
Kambosos: “Stop me? I do not think so.”
Shakur: “Hey, I’ll stop you and beat you up.”
Joe Tessitore: “It was the Kambosos crew trying to get into a fight with Shakur Stevenson, urging him on. Listen, Shakur doesn’t back down on anyone when it comes to those types of exchanges, but you’ve heard what he has to say about the level of combat he wants.
“There is a way to 114-114. You have to give some of these rounds to Kambosos for trying to be an invader. Maybe you can go to 114-114. You can’t go to 117-111, Bernardo. You can not do it. Math can’t get you there at 117-111,” Kambosos.”
Osuna: “That’s exactly why I asked Maxi Hughes if he’d talked about it, and I asked Shakur Stevenson the same thing because, unfortunately, Maxi Hughes’ performance is going to be overshadowed by one thing, and that’s the ridiculous 117-111 scoreboard that seems to come up every game.
“The left side of the field, what the hell are you looking at the scoreboard because even 115-113 & 114-114, you can make some sloppy argument for it, but you can’t defend 117-111. That always reduces the work they do in the ring when they risk their lives.”
auditor: “That 117-111 scorecard. It was the match that was blowing up Twitter verse about boxing, in which six of the last seven rounds of [judge] Joe Mason has been scoring for George Kambosos. He gave him nine rounds.
“Do you enjoy sitting down with Joseph Mason as an exercise? We’re going to sit down for some drinks and pizza together, and I want you to show me nine rounds.”
Tim Bradley: “Yes, but we can’t. That is the problem. We cannot ask the referee how he judged the game or why he did so when it was clearly a Maxi Hughes match. That’s the biggest problem in boxing.
“One more bad decision, and now Maxi Hughes will go home with a cordless belt. Think about this. This is the champion. He came here to fight George Kambosos, dominate him, and now he is returning home.
“Think about how long it took him to get to this position and how long it will take him to get there again.”
Mark Kriegel: “I think the judge should sit down, Joseph Mason, and have a beer & pizza with Maxi Hughes and explain that and maybe his wife. To be fair, he did something tonight. He shined a lot tonight. He just didn’t get what he deserved. “
