WBO super featherweight champion Jamel ‘Semper Fi’ Herring 23-2 (11) will enter his title defence against young upstart Shakur ‘Fearless’ Stevenson 16-0 (8) as a sizeable underdog this weekend.
The all-southpaw battle will take place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday night.
“The odds just play to my story,” the 35-year-old Herring said. “I’ve always been an underdog, not just in boxing but in life, so I don’t get into the oddsmaker thing. It doesn’t bother me at all.
“It’s not personal, it’s just business. We’re building a fight is all it means to me. I’ve heard worse and been through worse. We’re just two top competitors in the division trying to prove who is the best.
“It just feels like another elite level fight in a loaded and talented division, so we just take it one fight at a time. We put all personal feelings to the side and just go to work and do what we have to do.
“Atlanta is cool. I have family out here. My sons live out here as well. It’s another home and it’s an honor just to be fighting in the State Farm Arena because there’s not a lot of fights coming into town, so whenever you can bring a special fight to a certain city, it’s always a great thing.”
The 24-year-old Stevenson briefly held the WBO featherweight title when he picked up the vacant strap against Joet Gonzalez two years ago before moving up in weight.
“It means everything to me,” Stevenson said. “This is my first time being able to go against a champion and being able to take a champion’s belt will mean a lot to me… and I can’t wait to hear them say, “and the new!’
“It’s definitely not personal, just business at the end of the day. He’s not my friend. I don’t hit him up and say, ‘let’s fight.’” We don’t have any conversations. I don’t talk to Jamel Herring outside of boxing.
“It’s going to feel real good beating the whole team. I can’t wait to go against [Herring trainers Brian McIntyre and Red Spikes]. It’s not just Jamel that I’m fighting. I’ve got to beat Bomac and Red and it’ll feel good doing that.”
“You’re going to see a special night, my coming out party. It’s going to be a great night and he said he’s going to spoil the party, so let’s see if he can do it.”
Herring won the WBO title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Japan’s Masayuki Ito in May 2019. He followed this up with three successful title defences including a stunning sixth-round knockout of former two-weight world champion Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton in Dubai last April.