Max Boxing – Main Lead

Stevens makes a sensational stop – photo by Amanda Westcott

David Stevens said it was important to show he’s a main event fighter. Delivered Friday night at Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem, province.

In nearby Reading, Pennsylvania, Stevens faced undefeated super-middleweight Sean Hemphill from New Orleans, Louisiana in a fight originally scheduled for October 2022. When the final bell rang, the thing that was most distant from Stevens’ mind must have been that he would have to wait three months for results.

One look at the fighters facing off at Thursday’s weigh-in will tell the boxing novice what you’re likely to expect when it comes to style and strategy. At 5’11” Stevens slowed down and eventually had to find a way to get in so he could stop Hemphill. was.

From the opening bell, each fighter followed their own game plan. Despite the action taking place in the ring, it can be described in a polite and small way. Hemphill was able to use his leg while trying to keep Stevens at the end of the jab. Stevens has indicated that he has worked on various methods to close his distance and impose his will. He used his head movements to get low and follow his own jab inside.

The first quarter of the fight basically came down to which style you prefer. The ShoBox team scorecards of Barry Tompkins, Raul Marquez and Brian Campbell varied, but Adam Fricia, Dewey LaRosa and Steve All official Weisfeld scorecards had Stevens leading 20–18. I agree with the official scorecard. Hemphill was throwing it on the move while he was busy with his jab. It was more like a “show me” jab thrown at Stevens to slow him down, not to discourage him from moving forward.

Stephens clearly picked up the momentum with a right overhand and surprised Hemphill early in round three. Stevens seemed to be the better student of the two, as he was anticipating Hemphill’s movements slowly, landing his right hand more often.

If Hemphill hadn’t chosen prize fighting as his career, we’d have to guess that he would have been a huge success at one of the tables in the adjoining casino. His expression never changed. I couldn’t figure out if he felt like he was following his game plan or was frustrated with the ever-present Stevens in his chest.

As if he thought he was in the middle of a 10-round fight, Hemphill sat down to punch and managed to rip the shot into Stevens’ body. It was not planned.

The 7th round could have been fought in a phone booth. Both fighters were fighting on their toes, determined to leave nothing to chance. Each player gave as much as they received, but there was clearly steam coming out of Stevens’ punches. It was the first time in his career that he had fought over six rounds, and he was trading with the supposedly newer of the two game opponents.

Before the final round trainer, Buddy Maggart instructed Hemphill to win the final round in boxing. I was.

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In the red corner, Ronnie Shields stressed to Stevens that he needed a round, repeating that he could do it by landing an uppercut.

Stevens started the final stanza by viciously throwing a punch. Hemphill met him in the trenches and targeted Stevens’ body to try to build on the success he found. Stevens pushed Hemphill onto the ropes in the corner, where he unleashed a four-punch combination that sent Hemphill to the canvas and almost under the bottom rope.

Referee Sean Clark initially did a good job giving Hemphill a chance to beat the count. He rose to his feet on the count of 9. Clark correctly asked him again to walk to the left instead of straight. With seconds left, Stevens only had time to throw three more punches. Last took down Hemphill with a left hook for the last time, and the match was shaken out with two seconds remaining.

Stevens (12-0, 9 KO) was declared the winner by TKO, but Hemphill suffered his first loss of the game (14-1, 8 KO).

Both fighters should be commended not only for winning battles, but for boldly doing great things right up to the final bell.

Stevens was the better man this night, and he deserves an even bigger fight in the next match.

Hopefully his team will continue to play him against opponents who realize he’s only 22 and this is the first time he’s fought over six rounds. . Hemphill will need to build on this experience and do everything possible to stay as busy as possible for the remainder of 2023.

Jason Privila is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. For questions or comments, [email protected] or follow us on twitter @PribsBoxing