Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson Fight Preview, Prediction, and Picks

Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson Fight Preview, Prediction, and Picks

A battle between former allies takes place this Saturday night from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, as Jamel Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) defends his WBO junior featherweight title versus the talented Shakur Stevenson (16-0, 8 KOs) in a bout that will be televised on ESPN.

Not too long ago they were on friendly terms as both Herring and Stevenson trained at the camp of welterweight belt-holder, Terence Crawford, and trainer Brian 'BoMac' McIntyre. While not officially under the guidance of McIntryre (like Herring), he was a welcome visitor to that stable that is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

But there has been some noticeable hostility from Stevenson for some reason towards the affable Herring coming into this promotion.

Putting all that aside, this is a match-up of two well-schooled, technically sound southpaws. But for some reason, there seems to be a real lack of respect for Herring, who is listed by some book as high as a 10-1 underdog.

Click Here For Complete Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson Odds

Jamel Herring Preview

While both are former U.S. Olympians, it's Stevenson that captured the silver medal in the 2016 games in the bantamweight division. With his strong effort in Rio, Stevenson was the most coveted American boxer coming out that year. He eventually signed with Top Rank. While Herring, who was on the 2012 U.S. squad, was really an afterthought behind the likes of Errol Spence, Jose Ramirez, and Joseph Diaz.

After suffering some early setbacks in his career, many pundits wrote off Herring. But to his credit, he rebuilt his career and captured the WBO title by upsetting Masayuki Ito in 2019. Since then he has racked up three defenses of that title, the most recent was an impressive six-round stoppage of the accomplished Carl Frampton in Dubai back in April. Herring is a solid all-around boxer, who gets the most out of his abilities.

Shakur Stevenson Preview

Stevenson, on the other hand, was earmarked for professional success from the time he signed with Top Rank in 2017. The native of Newark, New Jersey, was fast-tracked to a title shot and faced Joet Gonzalez in just his 13th outing for the vacant WBO featherweight belt and was masterful in pitching a shutout in October of 2019.

He immediately moved up in weight and began to position himself for a title at 130. His last outing back in June, Stevenson was less-than-scintillating in out-pointing Jeremia Nakathila over 12 dreary rounds.

But make no mistake, Stevenson is a gifted technician -- one who understands distance and spacing, and is incredibly difficult to hit cleanly. He's the very definition of 'slick boxer'.

This is a pairing of the solid pro versus the prodigy.

Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson Prediction

OK, obviously Stevenson is the favorite for a reason, and why the overwhelming majority of pundits are picking him in this fight. But the odds here seem a bit overzealous in favor of Stevenson. Herring is the naturally bigger boxer, and his best bet is to turn this boxing match into more of a fight. There are some rumblings that Stevenson is having some issues making the 130-pound weight limit. So that could certainly be a factor if Herring pushes the pace. Again, the easy and obvious prediction is to go with the favorite, but the value here is with Herring.

Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson Pick

Pick: (http://Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson Prediction)

Click Here For Complete Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson Odds