Like Floyd Mayweather, Shakur Stevenson Says Olympic Heartbreak 'Made Me Who I Am'

Shakur Stevenson also came agonizingly close to Olympic gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics, but lost in the final and had to settle for silver. Like Floyd, his defeat was controversial. Stevenson was also left emotional after the loss and also never lost a fight since, currently boasting a 23-0-0 record with 11 knockouts.

Looking back on his Olympic heartbreak, Stevenson told SunSport:

I think that's the reason I am where I'm at today and I think that made me who I am. That Olympics, I know that I should have been an Olympic gold medalist had I did everything that I was supposed to do to become it. But I didn't do everything I was supposed to do to become an Olympic gold medalist.

He added:

So, I think that was the best thing that actually happened to me. It kinda put that motivation in me and that little bug in my back when I went pro to make sure that I make sure all bases are covered. And now that I'm here, I'm a hard mother****er to beat.

Stevenson is way past that Olympic defeat and is currently one of the best fighters in the world. He is the current WBC lightweight champion and has a title defense coming up against William Zepeda on July 12.

Zepeda is 33-0-0 with 27 knockouts. Much has been made of Zepeda's power and pressure style. He is definitely a worthy challenger for Stevenson, however, no one has been able to best Shakur inside the ring so far.

Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda is the co-main event of the fight card at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. The event will be headlined by a super middleweight clash between Edgar Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz.