Rare sparring footage emerges showing exact moment Shakur Stevenson injured hand and cried out in pain

13/09/2024 09:38

Shakur Stevenson cried out in pain when he injured his hand in sparring this week.

The American three-weight world champion was set to defend his WBC lightweight world title vs Joe Cordina on October 12.

This would have been the co-main event before Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

However, on Wednesday night it was announced that Stevenson has now suffered a hand injury in training and been forced to withdraw.

He posted a picture on Thursday of himself having undergone surgery.

Stevenson captioned this: “God works in mysterious ways.

“Through the ups and downs I'm steady hungry and motivated more then ever.

“2025 gone be my best year yet. Surgery went great it's a minor set back for a major comeback.”

On Friday, a rare twist occurred.

The footage of the exact moment the injury happened was released to certain media members, including ESPN’s Mike Coppinger.

In the video, fans can see Stevenson sparring with an unknown boxer.

He first lands a short left hand and then uses his reflexes to swiftly avoid a counter punch.

The pair then clinch for a few seconds.

After they break free, Stevenson throws an ill-fated two punch combination.

His first right hand lands on his foe’s headguard, with the second smashing the body.

However, as the body shot lands, Stevenson recoils in pain.

He cries out immediately after the punch lands and then drops to the canvas.

Stevenson is heard shouting, “Ah f***,” while someone else in attendance asks, “Woah, what happened?”

Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, this single moment of bad luck will now see him miss out on his next fight.

His promoter Eddie Hearn has said he is now likely to return in February.

The Joe Cordina fight looks set to be left behind as Stevenson will jump straight into a mandatory defence vs William Zepeda.