Video has surfaced today showing the moment Shakur Stevenson suffered a right hand injury while sparring for his fight against Joe Cordina on October 12th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This is not the first time Shakur has suffered a hand injury. Last November he was injured during his fight against Edwin De Los Santos and was very lucky to get the decision.
These hand injuries that keep popping up point to Shakur having brittle hands, which could shorten his career.
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson threw a right hook to the body that didn’t look like it was thrown with any power. Immediately, Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) fell to the canvas in agony with a look of pain. He suffered a ruptured tendon in his right hand, which has now been successfully repaired during surgery.
Just imagine what would happen if Shakur suffered the hand injury during fights against Gervonta Davis or William Zepeda. Even if he stayed on the move for 12 rounds like he did against De Los Santos, he’s not going to beat those guys by taking the odd shot here and there. They will knock him out.
Stevenson’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is optimistic that he will be back in early 2025, possibly against William Zepeda. It may not happen. It is important that Shakur takes his time in returning to ensure that this does not become a chronic thing for him with his fragile glassy hands that have repeatedly given out on him.
“He’s hurt now. Hands take a while. You never know how the recovery process will go. It’s a tendon injury,” Chris Algieri told Probox TV YouTubee channel about Shakur Stevenson’s right hand injury.
“It’s very unfortunate for Shakur Stevenson. He is one of the best fighters in the world today. A hand injury just when it looked like his career was heating up. Make a big transition, sign with Matchroom. The PPV portion of this card is not the most famous and exciting fighters on this side of the world,” said Algieri.
It might be a blessing that Shakur now has the hand injury because he can skip the Joe Cordina fight, which might have been another lackluster performance by him. Cordina can hit, and he would have forced Shakur to fight tooth and nail to win. Shakur wouldn’t be able to put it on Cordina like Anthony Cacace did last May to score a knockout because he’s not a combination puncher like he is, and he’s not as fearless.
“It’s interesting that they’re saying it’s early 2025 (for Shakur to be back) which is out soon because you don’t know how the recovery process is going to go,” Algieri continued. “There is nothing positive for Shakur Stevenson.
Hearn only guesses that Shakur will return in early 2025 because he could suffer a setback in camp and require additional surgery. For anyone who has suffered a blown out tendon, coming back can be problematic. It’s not a tendon injury to one of Shakur’s legs. It involves the knuckle of his right hand, and it’s the type of injury that could happen again.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out,” Algieri said. “Are they going to keep the price where it is?” Algieri said of the PPV portion of the Oct. 12 Riyadh season event, which is priced at $14.99.
They will have to lower the price because American fans will not be interested in paying to see Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta in the main event. Eubank Jr. is a 34-year-old underachieving fighter from the UK who has only fought one world-class opponent in his career, George Groves, in 2018 and been soundly beaten. Szceremeta is just a traveler.
“It was a very peculiar situation, even with Shakur on the card, the fact that with the undercard and Shakur the co-main event as a PPV. It would be free for the main event, which is Beterbiev and Bivol, the long-awaited fight we’ve been waiting for,” Algieri said.
