Stevenson Dominates Clary, Berlanga Continues 1st Round KO Streak

LAS VEGAS (December 12, 2020) — The sensational Shakur Stevenson played the role of headliner and shined. Stevenson, the former featherweight world champion, secured a 10-round unanimous decision over veteran Toka Kahn Clary in the junior lightweight main event Saturday from the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble.

Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs), the WBO No. 1 junior lightweight contender, has a title shot on his brain, but he nonetheless laid a beating on Clary (28-3, 19 KOs). The scorecards — 100-90 across the board — were a formality.

Up next, if he gets his wish, is a shot at the WBO junior lightweight world title.

“He knew how to survive. He came in there to survive, and that’s what he did," Stevenson said. “I want the WBO belt first. The winner of {Carl} Frampton and {Jamel} Herring have to come see me. After that, we want {WBC world champion Miguel} Berchelt.”

Nakatani Shocks Verdejo

Trailing big on the scorecards, Masayoshi Nakatani came from behind and earned the most significant win of his career.

Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs) scored a pair of knockdowns in the ninth round to stop Puerto Rican star Felix Verdejo in the ninth round of a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout. Knocked down in the first and fourth rounds, Nakatani, in his first bout since a decision loss to Teofimo Lopez in July 2019, stormed back with a pair of knockdowns in the ninth to clinch the shocking stoppage.

Verdejo (27-2, 17 KOs) saw his four-bout winning streak come to an end, and at the time of the stoppage, he was leading on all three scorecards (78-72 2x and 77-74).

After the bout, a jubilant Nakatani set his sights on a rematch with Lopez, now the undisputed lightweight world champion.

“I fought Lopez, and I wanted to fight him again, and that’s why I kept going," Nakatani said. “I want to go for the knockout like I did today, and that’s going to be my style.”

Berlanga's Sweet 16

Edgar "The Chosen One" Berlanga did it again. The Brooklyn brawler knocked out Ulises Sierra in the first round, the 16th consecutive first-round knockout for the 23-year-old phenom. Sierra (15-2-2, 9 KOs), from San Diego, had never been knocked out as a professional, but he was cannon fodder. Berlanga knocked him down three times in the opening stanza, forcing referee Russell Mora to stop the bout at 2:40.

Berlanga said, “{I want} rounds. The better competition, the better opposition we fight, I believe we’re going to get those rounds in. We ended 2020 with a bang. 2021 is a big year for us, and I’m looking forward to it.

“Tito Trinidad was my idol. He still is. Just being with him opened up my eyes as to what boxing is about, the dedication, the focus, leaving the streets and the bad people alone.”