Shakur Stevenson cruises to TKO win over Felix Caraballo as boxing makes its return in Las Vegas

The 22-year-old Stevenson put on a six-round clinic as boxing returned to its stage on Tuesday night

Given a showcase bout to welcome televised boxing back to the United States, unbeaten Shakur Stevenson made sure to put on a show. Stevenson (14-0, 8 KOs), the WBO featherweight champion, moved up to 130 pounds to stop heavy underdog Felix Caraballo via sixth-round TKO in a non-title main event of a Top Rank card from Las Vegas. The five-fight show took place inside an empty MGM Grand Convention Center as a precaution during the coronavirus pandemic. 

A 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, Stevenson lived up to his billing as one of boxing's rising stars who draws comparisons to a young Floyd Mayweather. The 22-year-old southpaw dominated the 33-year-old Caraballo (13-2-2, 9 KOs) from start to finish, scoring knockdowns via body shot in the first round and a second in Round 6 via left uppercut downstairs which forced referee Tony Weeks to wave the fight off at 1:31 without a count. 

"He opened up wide and I caught him between his punch, caught him right in the middle of the shot," Stevenson said. "I came here to get him out of there. I hit him with everything I could early. I wobbled him a bunch of times. He took a lot of punishment and I started wondering whether the head shots weren't going to get him out of there so I started going to the body."

Stevenson was originally scheduled to defend his 126-pound title against Miguel Marriagua at New York's Madison Square Garden in March, but the fight was called off one day prior just as the COVID-19 quarantine took shape. Although he was matched much softer on Tuesday following an unusual training camp given the circumstances, Stevenson was near perfect save for injuring his left hand in Round 5 -- the same hand he finished Caraballo with one round later. 

"It's a different atmosphere. Losing the weight was different, training was different," Stevenson said. "I couldn't be around nobody and even fighting without a crowd where you catch him with a shot and don't hear oohs and ahhs is different."

Not only was Stevenson's speed a major problem for his rugged, unheralded opponent who was fighting outside of his native Puerto Rico for the first time, Stevenson did well in his 130-pound debut to avoid being taken advantage of in the clinch by out-grappling Caraballo and finding success with combinations inside. 

Although the Mayweather comparisons flatter him, Stevenson has been far more focused on paving his own path toward potential greatness. 

"Floyd and I are two different fighters. I feel like we have two different styles," Stevenson said. "I stole things from his game, but I stole things from Terence Crawford, Pernell Whitaker and Andre Ward. I appreciate all of the comparisons and it's a huge compliment, but I'm my own fighter. I'm the first Shakur Stevenson."

The mentions of Mayweather have largely come from Stevenson's promoter, Hall of Famer Bob Arum of Top Rank, who helped both fighters transition from Olympians to professional champions in short time. 

"What a magnificent performance by Shakur Stevenson," Arum said. "He keeps on getting better, and rest assured, he is a future pound-for-pound superstar."

Stevenson was so dominant, he outlanded Caraballo by a margin of 121 to 18, according to CompuBox. What's even crazier? All but six of Stevenson's landed punches were power shots, which he connected on more than 50 percent. 

Named after the late rapper, actor and activist Tupac Shakur, the southpaw Stevenson proudly wore a Black Lives Matter T-shirt during his post-fight interview and seemed to embrace the power of his public platform. 

"Our people right now, they are protesting and there is a lot going on in my community," Stevenson said. "A lot of people are trying to stand up for what's right. I couldn't really go out there and protest with them because I had a fight coming up, but now that the fight is over, I can go out there and protest and show love to my people and lift them up." 

CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Tuesday bringing you all the results and highlights from the Top Rank card in Las Vegas as boxing made its televised return. You can view those results and highlights below. 

Stevenson vs. Caraballo card, results

Shakur Stevenson def. Felix Caraballo via sixth-round TKO
Jared Anderson def. Johnnie Langston via third-round TKO
Guido Vianello def. Donald Haynesworth via first-round TKO
Quatavious Cash def. Calvin Metcalf via unanimous technical decision (60-54, 60-55, 59-55)
Robeisy Ramirez def. Yeuri Andujar via first-round TKO

Stevenson vs. Caraballo scorecard, live coverage

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
Stevenson	10	10	10	10	10	TKO					50
Caraballo	8	9	9	9	9						44

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[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:15 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R6: Left hand to the body from Stevenson drops Caraballo hard. Weeks doesn't even bother counting. It's a knockout.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:14 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

ROUND 6: Stevenson shook out his left hand as if it might be hurt. Time is called to give Caraballo a break after Stevenson hit low.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:12 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R5: All clean, all flush for Stevenson. Whatever he wants to do, he's doing. He just can't hurt Caraballo enough to keep him away. Nice uppercut from Stevenson caught Caraballo leaning in.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:11 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

ROUND 5: Stevenson puts his foot on the gas more and stands in front of Caraballo landing flush power shots. Lead left hands beat Caraballo's jab to the punch. This is toyage.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:08 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R4: 10-9, Stevenson. Full control.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:08 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R4: Caraballlo cuts off the ring and flurries to the body but can't land clean. Stevenson locks arms and pushes him back. Good combos to the body from Stevenson.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:07 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

ROUND 4: Stevenson starting to play with his food a bit here. He's using his jab just to paw and find range before letting his quick left cross go. Nice combos inside by Stevenson. Caraballo ties him up but can't land anything due to Stevenson's ability to overpower him in the clinch.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:04 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Put another one in the book for Stevenson, 10-9.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:04 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Clean left hands in abundance for Stevenson. Seemingly everything is landing flush.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:03 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: Caraballo digs to the body. Stevenson spins around and willingly grapples in the clinch to show his strength. Good body shots from Stevenson.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:03 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R3: The speed of Stevenson's combos aren't allowing Carballo to let his hands go. He's just following Stevenson around.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:02 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

ROUND 3: Caraballo corners him but can only force a clinch. Good potshotting from Stevenson as he uses his speed to stay outside. A left cross stuns Caraballo on the chin.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 10:00 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R2: Great round once again. 10-9, Stevenson.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 9:59 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R2: Good right hand to the body from Carballo to gain a much-needed breather. Stevenson answers with three clean shots and a hard right hook off the break.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 9:59 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R2: Right hand causes Caraballo to wobble and cover up. Left hand from Stevenson backs him up again.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 9:58 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

ROUND 2: Carballo scores to the body but Stevenson responds with combos. The speed and accuracy is killer. Nice body shot from Stevenson. He's lighting Caraballo up at close range.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 9:56 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R1: Big openinground for Stevenson, 10-8.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 9:56 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R1: It looked like their feet may have been tangled but Weeks ruled it a knockdown. Nice left hand from Stevenson caught Caraballo rushing in to corner him.

[Jun 9, 2020 at 9:56 pm ET · Brian Campbell]

R1: Hard left cross from Stevenson. He has effectively disciplined Caraballo after the underdog got off quickly in the opening seconds. A left hand to the body drops Caraballo to a knee for a knockdown.