Last month, Jamel Herring, a former WBO junior lightweight boxing champion and current Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) World bantamweight champion, opened up to the AmNews.
“They say in boxing, you’re not a real world champion until you defend your title, and right now, I have a real good opponent in front of me and that’s where my focus is at,” he said at the time.
Herring is now a real world champion. The 40-year-old Marine veteran defended his title in a toughly contested bout versus John Dodson at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, this past Saturday, with one of judges disagreeing with the two others. Two judges scored the fight for Herring (3-0) 48-47 and 49-46, while one scored it for Dodson (4-1-1) 49-46. Dodson, 42, retained his BKFC flyweight championship despite the loss while pursuing a second title. Although Dodson’s aggression may have won him the fight on one judge’s scorecard, Herring’s ability to avoid heavy damage and keep Dodson, who frequently charged in, at bay with jabs and body punches ultimately won him the fight. “I think this is my first big test and I’m still getting better,” Herring said in a post-fight interview.
“I understand it’s a decision, but it is what it is, the right man got the victory.” On July 9, Zuffa Boxing head and UFC President and CEO Dana White announced the signing of undefeated four-division world champion Shakur Stevenson. A little over three months later, the Newark native is no longer with Zuffa. “Fans, how you doing? It’s the one, the only, one of the best boxers in this sport,” Stevenson said in a YouTube video he released Monday. “Actually, I feel as though I’m the best boxer in the sport, but I’m here to tell y’all about my wild journey that I’ve been on these past couple of months.
Since his professional debut in April 2017, Stevenson is 25-0 (11KOs).
“I’ve been working my ass off, staying focused, staying in shape. But I’ve been in camp for like eight weeks preparing for fights that I was told were going to happen, and it has not happened; but look … This is the business of boxing. I’m not mad at anyone. I’m not pointing no fingers. But upon all of these issues and things that’s been going on, I requested to be released from Zufa Boxing. Now, over the weekend, my request has been granted, and now I am officially a free agent.” Additionally, Stevenson said he is starting his own promotional company and will work with other promoters to get the biggest fights possible.
On Saturday, in a highly anticipated unification bout, WBO and IBF super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 KOs) battles WBC super featherweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster (25-3, 12 KOs) at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio for featherweight supremacy.
