Oftentimes in the heavyweight division, it takes just one explosive KO, or perhaps a nice run of solid wins, and a guy is right back, closing in on something big. This brings us to Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw. This past weekend, Shaw of Saint Louis took out Nigerian puncher Raphael Akpejiori in a little over 30 seconds, Shaw’s right hand and his left hook serving to lay Akpejiori out cold soon after the bell had sounded at the Maryland Live Casino in Hanover.
Now 21-2(16), 32-year-old Shaw might be back in line to live up to his ring nickname. Okay, Akpejiori isn’t an elite heavyweight, but he was on a roll prior to running into Shaw, having won three fights after having been stopped by Arslanbek Makhmudov in July of 2023. For what it’s worth, Shaw stopped Akpejiori faster than the Russian giant did.
Shaw, beaten only by Efe Ajagba and Joseph Goodall (who managed to stop Shaw), has now won his last three on the spin. And Shaw is a good fighter, a good puncher. The age of 32 is still young for a heavyweight these days, and Shaw could yet prove to be a major player in the division. Certainly, after showcasing explosive punching power on Saturday the way he did, fans want to see where Shaw goes from here.
A pro since December of 2013, Shaw enjoyed a good amateur career, during which he went 51-9. As a pro, Shaw holds good wins over Joey Dawejko (whom he stopped), Rydell Booker, and now Akpejiori. Again, let’s see who Shaw is matched up with in his next fight. Hopefully, Shaw will remain busy, with him getting another two, maybe three fights in before the end of the year.
Fans love the kind of highlight-reel KO that Shaw delivered on Saturday. Now, can “Big Shot” go on and deliver some more? One fight I’d like to see is one between Shaw and Jared Anderson. Who wins if that fight happens?
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