Jamel Herring faces off Shakur Stevenson live from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA on Saturday October 23, which makes it Sunday October 24 in Australia. The contest features reigning WBO junior lightweight champion defending his belt against former featherweight world champion.
The world championship bout headlines the Top Rank boxing fight card live on ESPN and ESPN+ in the US and on ESPN on Kayo in Australia. The start time is scheduled 10:30 pm ET / 7:30 pm PT and 12:30 pm AEST, respectively.
Among other bouts featured on the main card, grandson of Muhammad Ali, Nico Ali Walsh (1-0, 1 KO) is looking to secure the second win in the pro ranks as he faces a to be determined opponent in a four-rounder at middleweight. The co-feature bout is expected to be announced shortly.
Herring vs Stevenson tickets
Herring vs Stevenson tickets to witness all the action at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, October 23 go on sale Friday, September 10 at 10 am ET. Tickets can be purchased through ticketmaster.com.
Herring vs Stevenson undercard live stream on ESPN+ features the professional comeback of U.S. Olympic silver medalist Duke Ragan (4-0, 1 KO) in a six-round featherweight bout, Ragan’s Olympic teammate Troy Isley (2-0, 1 KO) in a six-rounder at middleweight, and Georgia native Haven Brady Jr. (3-0, 3 KOs) in a four-round featherweight tilt. In addition, the event is set to see the A-Town debut of junior middleweight prospect Evan Holyfield (7-0, 5 KOs), an Atlanta native and the son of heavyweight legend Evander Holyfield.
“We are thrilled to be back in Atlanta with a spectacular card headlined by a junior lightweight championship grudge match between a veteran champion and one of the sport’s supreme young talents,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “And with names like Ali Walsh, Ragan and Isley on the undercard, Atlanta’s great fight fans will see many of the sport’s most promising up-and-comers.”
Jamel Herring vs Shakur Stevenson
Jamel Herring (23-2, 11 KOs), a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who captained the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team, has made three defenses of the world title he won via decision over Masayuki Ito in May 2019. After a challenging 2020 campaign that included a bout with COVID-19 and a disqualification victory over Jonathan Oquendo, Herring punched his passport in April and knocked out former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton in Dubai.
He now steps up against pound-for-pound talent and 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson (16-0, 8 KOs), a former WBO featherweight world champion who vacated the title last year to move up to junior lightweight. Stevenson is 3-0 at junior lightweight, most recently picking up the interim WBO junior lightweight world title in June with a shutout decision over Namibia’s Jeremiah Nakathila. Stevenson has lost only a handful of rounds since turning pro in April 2017, a dominant run that’s included victories over the likes of Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz and Joet Gonzalez.
“2021 has been good to me so far. I started the year with a big fight and a major win over Frampton,” Herring said. “I look forward to finishing out the year the same way I started it, not only with another huge victory, but as a world champion. I have nothing else to say. I’m focused on October 23 and the fourth title defense of my WBO belt.”
Stevenson said, “Jamel had to fight me, or he would’ve been stripped of his world title. I boxed him into a corner, and I am going to take his world title in devastating fashion on October 23. I can’t wait to fight in front of the amazing fans in Atlanta. Trust me, you are going to see a show, and I will become a two-weight world champion.”
Nico Ali Walsh aims for pro win number two
Ali Walsh’s Aug. 14 professional debut drew international media attention, and he knocked out Jordan Weeks in the opening round while wearing a pair of his grandfather’s old trunks. He’ll make his ring return in a city that hosted two of Muhammad Ali’s most memorable moments.
State Farm Arena sits less than two miles from the Atlanta Olympic Cauldron Tower, where Ali lit the Olympic flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In October 1970, Ali fought Jerry Quarry at City Auditorium, his first fight in more than three years after being banned from the ring for refusing induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Ali Walsh’s second pro fight will come three days shy of the 51st anniversary of the Quarry fight, which Ali won by third-round knockout.
Ali Walsh said, “Atlanta welcomed my grandfather with open arms, and I am honored to fight there on a major world championship card. When Top Rank said I’d be fighting in Atlanta, I thought of my grandfather lighting the Olympic torch and his bout against Jerry Quarry. This will be a special evening for my entire family. The legend lives on.”
Herring vs Stevenson fight card
The current Herring vs Stevenson fight card looks as the following:
Main Card
- Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson, 12 rounds, junior lightweight – Herring’s WBO junior lightweight title
- Nico Ali Walsh vs. TBA, 4 rounds, middleweight
Undercard
- Duke Ragan vs. TBA, 6 rounds, featherweight
- Troy Isley vs. TBA, 6 rounds, middleweight
- Haven Brady Jr vs. TBA, 4 rounds, featherweight
- Evan Holyfield vs. TBA, 4 rounds, junior middleweight
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